Fairy Extinction
by StormDragonSlayer
Summary: A new enemy declares war on Fairy Tail, and it doesn't go well. Now, a small group of Fairy Tail survivors must find a way to defeat the strongest alliance of darkness Fiore has ever seen, before it causes a Fairy Extinction. Blood, gore, death, and dark times ahead! First actual fanfic, please don't hate TOO hard!
1. Clifftop Confessions

As they stared up at a darkening sky, they knew it was the end. All their running, all their hiding, their plans, dreams, and hopes all ending under the boots of the massive force that was currently climbing the ridge towards them. As they waited, their resolve steeled. There would be no running, no last second miracle retreat, no "Fairy Tail" ending where they used their combined might to take out the enemy. This was it.

"Well, I don't know about you lot, but I'm not gonna go down without a fight," a muscular blonde said, stowing his headphones in a pocket of the overcoat he wore around his shoulders. "If I go out, I'm taking as many of them with me as I can."

"And I will be right by your side, as always," a white-haired beauty said from beside him. "If you are going to fight, then I will fight right by your side."

"I would have it no other way," the blonde replied. All around them, other couples confirmed their love as the advancing army bore down on them. A curvy brunette sobbed as she hugged her father, who returned the embrace. A green-haired woman hugged her brunette husband and their small child. A muscular white-haired man gripped a tan-haired woman as they gazed into each other's eyes, whispering quickly before locking each other in a lover's embrace.

"I'm sorry, Master," a beautiful redhead whispered, gazing at an aged photograph of a group of people celebrating around a campfire. "In the end, I couldn't protect them. I've failed you." A solitary tear fell from her left eye as she gazed at the smile of a short, old man who was holding his hand straight up in a fist, except for his forefinger and thumb, both of which were pointed skyward.

"He'd be proud of you, y'know. We all feel blessed to have called you our comrade, guild leader, and friend," an extremely tall man with brown hair and bright blue eyes spoke from behind the redhead, his voice filed with love and admiration. "And I am happy that I was the one who got to claim you as his, until the very end." Rain began to fall, masking the man's tears as he began to sob. "I just wish that we were able to lead a normal life, rather than the life of a fugitive."

"I know. I just don't know what to do. They should be here with us, because the guild was never the same without them." More tears fell as the redhead stood up, embracing the giant in what could only be described as a lovers' embrace. Their final sanctuary had been breached, their final hope had failed to show up, and there was nowhere else to go. The only thing left to do was wait for death to find them, all of them, and bring about the end of their group. The two stood there, hoping beyond hope for a miracle that would allow them and their friends to escape this nightmare.

Suddenly, the ground shook as a massive creature landed on the cliff with them, with more of the same creatures landing behind that. "Hey!" A familiar pink-haired man cried from astride the largest beast, which could only be described as a dragon, gleaming red and glorious in the rain that fell heavily from the sky.

"Are you guys going to stand there gawking or hop aboard? We don't have much time before the military gets here!" A black-haired man yelled, moving to motion with his arm that they should hurry, while trying to keep the unconscious blue-haired woman on his lap from falling off of the mighty silver beast that they sat upon.

Quickly, the gathered fugitives chose beasts to fly upon, and just as the first ranks of the approaching war machine topped the cliff, they could only shout in frustration as one by one the dragons took off from the cliff and into the thunderstorms raging above.

The group couldn't believe it. Just when they thought all hope was lost, and death marched towards them on iron boots, the miracle had happened. Their last hope had come through, and they had escaped certain death for the time being. As the redhead marveled at their luck, the brunette behind her laid his head against her back, taking comfort in the fact that they had survived another near death experience. The redhead leaned back into the man, lightning from the clouds glinting off of the armor that she wore, and off of the glasses that the man wore. "We escaped…" the woman sighed, relief evident in her voice. The man chuckled as she heard the voice of his long-time girlfriend. "That we did. Old candlestick came through in the end, didn't he?"

"Yes, Natsu certainly did. And now, Fairy Tail lives on."


	2. Painful Remembrance

**Hey guys! Welcome to my first fanfiction. I know usually the Author's Note goes before a chapter, but I wanted to get that little preview up as kind of a prologue, and it got 24 views in two days, so I'm really excited about this! Anyways guys, this fic is going to be in two parts, the first being told in flashbacks and mostly containing deaths and plot bits, and the second part being (hopefully) a fitting ending to the fic. Any reviews, and I mean ANY, would be greatly appreciated. Let me know what you guys think! Hope you guys enjoy! Storm Out!**

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Erin Noctem gazed around the small camp near the peak of Mount Hakobe. After Natsu's daring rescue the night before, they had flown through the night to reach the imposing mountain and find a spot to set up a camp that would be well hidden from the dark guilds that were relentlessly pursuing them, finally, they found a small cave opening that, upon further investigation, opened up into a cavern large enough for three dragons to lay down comfortably together. Now, the tall storm wizard looked around at what was left of his once-thriving guild, his ice-blue eyes saddened as he thought of the members that weren't here, including his best friend.

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 _A massive explosion sounded throughout the forest, and seconds later a tall mage flashed through a small clearing, a raven-haired mage just seconds behind. "Erin, how long do you think that will hold them?" The black-haired man sounded worried as he glanced behind him, and subsequently sped up so that he was running stride for stride with his teammate and friend._

" _Not long, Gray. I only gave it enough power to help us escape." Erin said, a spark of electricity flashing at his hands. Spinning around, Erin put his hand out in a claw-like gesture. "_ _ **Hurricane Volley!**_ _" He shouted, loosing a massive blast of electricity into the trees behind the pair, and setting off a huge explosion. "That might hold them a little longer, but I wouldn't count on it. We need to get back to Magnolia as fast as possible, so that we can warn the guild. Now, c'mon!"_

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"Wow, daydreaming already, Erin?" A voice from behind him snapped him out of the flashback, and as he turned around, he was greeted by the sight of a gorgeous redhead, hands on hips and a rare smile gracing her face. "Just remembering, Erza. Guess I just got stuck in the past."

"You were thinking about Gray, weren't you?" Erza asked, the smile fading into a look of concern.

"Yeah," Erin said, a touch of sadness creeping into his voice. "It's been almost two years, and I still can't believe that he's dead. And it doesn't help that I was responsible for it. If I had just been a second quicker, I could've-"

"Stop, Erin," Erza said, knowing where her boyfriend's thoughts were turning. "There was nothing you could have done for Gray, and his sacrifice helped us to realize the threat that we were up against and gave us time to get out of Magnolia before the enemy got there." "But-""But nothing. Stop beating yourself up over something you had no control over."

Erin bowed his head, not entirely convinced, and felt a pair of arms rap around him as the dam broke, and the sobs tore through him.

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" _Damn, those bastards hit hard!" Gray shouted, ducking another bolt of magic, and running through the trees after Erin. "If this keeps up, we won't make it back to Magnolia to warn the guild!" "I know, but at this point, we've got no other option. If we turn and fight, we'll get overrun, and they'll hit Fairy Tail with no warning. We have to get to the guild and warn them." Erin ducked as a bolt of red magic flew over his head, causing an explosion to tear through the forest._

" _I know, I know._ _ **Ice Make: Lance!**_ _" A hundred lances of ice flew out of Gray's hand, pinning four of their pursuers to trees and slowing the rest as they tried to dodge. Seeing his opportunity, Erin spun around and pointed. "_ _ **Shadow's Seal!**_ _" He shouted, using his secondary magic to pin the rest of their pursuers in place with their shadows. "That should buy us some more ti-Gray!" Erin looked on in horror as a blade of black magic pierced through Gray's stomach, leaving a look of shock on the face of the ice mage. "Gray, stay with me, we're almost to the guild, just hang on!" Even as he said it, he knew that his friend wasn't going to make it. Blood poured from the jagged wound in his belly, and his breath came out in ragged gasps as he fought for air. "Erin…get going. Just leave me behind." "Ain't happening, stripper, now stay awake!" Erin shouted, trying desperately to hold back tears as his best friend lay in his arms, struggling to stay conscious. "Tell Juvia…tell her that I hope she would have said yes." With that, Gray grabbed Erin's hand, leaving a small, black box in his grasp as the Ice Make wizard passed beyond the veil._

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Erza held her lover as sobs racked his body, knowing that he was reliving one of the worst days of his life. The guild had been shocked to hear of Gray's death, and even more shocked to learn that an army of dark guilds was closing in on them, but Erin had been devastated by the death of his best friend. He had refused to eat for days, and still wouldn't talk about what happened after the fatal blow had been struck. The only person who he had imparted Gray's final words to had been Juvia, Gray's long-time girlfriend, saying that that had been his last wish.

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" _ **Hurricane's Final Destruction!**_ _" Erin yelled, bringing his full magical might to bear on the people who had killed his friend. The enemies could only look on in horror as clouds blacker than midnight gathered above them, as they been rendered immobile by Erin's Shadow's Seal. Suddenly, in a bright white flash of lightning, they were all turned to ashes, and an earsplitting peal of thunder added a sense of finality to their deaths. Sobbing openly, Erin gathered up Gray's lifeless body in his arms, taking off at a dead sprint towards the city of Magnolia, and towards his guild._

" _GRAY!" "What happened?!" "Why is he not moving?!" "Oh my god, his stomach!" The members of Fairy Tail were clamoring to find out what had happened to their brother, but Erin wouldn't speak, only telling Makarov that Gray had died while assisting in Erin's escape from The Nocturnal Alliance. As Makarov gathered the guild together and told them that they were leaving, he couldn't help but feel pity for the tall storm mage. It certainly wasn't easy to watch your best friend die in your arms, but he knew from the look on Erin's face that he blamed himself for Gray's death. "Stay strong, Cyclone," Makarov whispered, using the title given to him by the people of Fiore. "We'll need all hands on deck if Fairy Tail is to live on."_

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 **That physically hurt to right. And I'm sorry to anyone who was hoping to see Gray in this story. But when I came up with the idea for this story, I wanted to make it emotional. Anyways guys, see you whenever I update next! Storm Out!**


	3. Burned and Broken

**What's up guys! Here's Chapter three, and it's taken a while to think about who to write about next, so that's why this chapter took a while to write. As well as moving back to college, dealing with personal stuff, and finding a beta reader. Just a warning before hand, some stuff in here could trigger some people, so be careful, people. And if you have something to say about it, leave a review or PM me. I am willing to accept any criticism! So without further ado, here's Chapter Three! Storm Out!**

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 _A sudden crash broke through the eerie silence the night cast over the plains of Fiore. As Lucy Heartfilia ran through the tall grass, panting heavily, her mind raced. She had to get back and warn the others, but the attackers following her were tough, and she didn't know if she could outrun them. The only advantage she had was her ability as a Celestial Mage, but she didn't know if her magic would help much. As another bolt of magic flew past her, she decided to use her advantage to its fullest. "Open, Gate of the Lion! Leo!" A golden flash lit up the night, and a tall, auburn haired man in a suit appeared beside her. "You called?" Leo said, a mild tone coloring his voice. "Yeah! I could really use some help! Get these guys off of me so I can go and warn the others!" Lucy shouted dodging to the left as another blast of magic narrowly missed her head. "You got it," Leo said, before gathering his magic around him. "_ _ **Regulus Impact!"**_ _He shouted, darting towards the attackers as light engulfed his body. The attackers faltered, torn between pursuing Lucy and taking out the new threat. "We'll split up!" one shouted, a black cowl covering most of his features. "Half of you stay here and deal with the cat, and half of you come with me. We have to take out the girl!"_

 _Lucy sprinted in the direction of the group's camp, the blasts of magic still coming. 'Damn,' she thought. 'I thought that would at least stall them a little bit.' Pulling out her whip, she turned and lashed out, catching one of the pursuers by the ankle and taking them down. 'How did they find us? Have they been following us this entire time? Why haven't we seen them?' She resumed her frenzied dash across the plain, heading towards a group of hills. She looked over her shoulder, and was shocked when she saw that the pursuers who had stopped to deal with Leo had caught up and resumed their pursuit of her. 'Damn! What happened to Leo?!' "I'm sorry, Lucy," she heard Leo say through her link to the Celestial World. "I held them off as long as I could." "That's ok, Leo." She thought in return. "You did the best you could, now rest."_

 _Suddenly, Lucy cried out as a tendril of magic caught her around the ankle and dragged her towards her pursuers. A high-pitched cackle broke out from the group of cloaks as she fought helplessly to escape. "Well, well, well. Lookie here, boys. We're in the presence of a real star! Why don't we have some fun?" The leader sneered. A second tendril grabbed Lucy around the neck, lifting her effortlessly into the air. As she gasped for air, more tendrils emerged from behind the cloaked man and gripped her arms and legs, spreading her limbs until she cried out from the pain. "Oh, c'mon, girlie. You can scream louder. After all, how will your friends find you if they can't hear you?" The leader let out an absolutely evil cackle as Lucy was slammed into the ground, a pained cry leaving her lips. "That's better. That's MUCH better. A nice loud scream of pain. Music to my ears." "Why? W-Why are you d-d-doing this?" Lucy choked out. A manic glint appeared in the leader's eye. "Because, dearie," he said in a singsong voice that sent shivers down Lucy's spine, "apart from being paid a rich sum for this job, we get to take revenge on the guild that took a target of ours from us. You see, when we recruit, we don't like recruits leaving for other guilds, and certainly not a goody-two-shoes guild like Fairy Tail. So it's a two-in-one deal for us. And that's an offer we can't pass up." The leader laughed as he slammed Lucy into the ground again. "Unfortunately, your friends will be here soon, so we've got to make this quick." The leader sneered, and Lucy gasped as the leader brought her in close enough to whisper in her ear, "Tell your friends that the Nocturnal Alliance says hello, and that the dark guild Laughing Coffin sends their regards." Lucy cried out as a sharp pain struck her stomach, and the man pulled back laughing. "Tata for now, Fairy." With that her attackers took off in the opposite direction of camp. Lucy watched as they disappeared into the night, then looked down at the knife imbedded in her stomach. Falling to her knees, she wished that one person could be with her right then._

" _It came from over here!" Natsu ran full speed towards the place where he had heard the cry, a feeling of dread filling him as he saw someone lying on the ground motionless. "Hey!" He shouted, and then he stopped, recognition and horror rooting him to the spot. "LUCY!" He screamed, dashing to her side. "Lucy, say something, c'mon, please!" Natsu broke down. He couldn't lose her. He had already lost so much. His home, his guild, and now, his girlfriend was lying on the ground in a pool of her own blood. "Natsu, listen." He sighed in relief. She was still alive. "Lucy, don't talk. Save your strength. The others will be here soon, just hold on." Natsu… just listen. They're coming…for you all. The Alliance…They…they're led by Laughing Coffin." "Lucy, just stay with me, please. I can't lose you, too." But Lucy's brown eyes had already closed, her breathing already stilled. As the rest of the guild arrived, the man known as Salamander unleashed an unearthly howl, as the grief from seeing the one person he would,_ could _ever love passed on from this mortal coil._

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Natsu awoke with a start, a cold sweat covering his body. The recurring nightmare always chilled the fire dragon slayer to the bone, and brought unbidden memories racing to the surface. Of her, of that day, of the life that he could never have.

The day that he became a broken flame.

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 **Yeah, I'm pretty sure you guys hate me for that one. I'm sorry! The next chapter should be up a lot sooner than this one was, but with moving back into my college flat, the holiday break wrapping up, and other stuff, I wasn't able to right as much as I wanted too. PLEASE don't hate me too much! Please? Storm Out!**


	4. Rain on a Wedding

**Hey Guys! Here's the fourth chapter of FE, and last chapter was received pretty well, as it got 77 views yesterday alone! And to answer your review, Crosswald, my mind was debating between killing off Gray and Lucy or Gajeel and Levy before I put this story out, but Gajeel ultimately won out for reasons you'll see later. I hope you still enjoyed, and that you don't hate me too much! Anyways, standard warning of darkness, and possible triggers (yay, death!) and definite hatred of me by the end of this chapter! Storm Out!**

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" _Seriously!" Natsu yelled from across the small clearing jam-packed with fighting, "They can't give us one day of peace?! Come on!" Juvia allowed herself a small grin before turning to her next target, a smaller man cloaked in black. Blasting him with a jet of boiling water, she glanced around the clearing. Laxus and Mirajane were fighting a large group of wizards at the edge of the clearing, but weren't in need of help. Gajeel was taking down cloaked figures left and right with his Iron Dragon Sword as they tried to get to Levy. Erin and Erza were taking down enemies with a combination of Hurricane Volleys and sword strikes. Gildarts was wading through a mass of enemies and sending them flying using his crash magic. Natsu was sparing no mercy for his opponents, clearly enraged over their role in his beloved Lucy's death a week before. Juvia understood his pain like no one else could, having lost her beloved Gray-sama to these monsters when they were still in Magnolia. Her heart saddened when she thought of Gray. The sarcastic Ice Make wizard had been the one person to truly understand her, and they had been dating for three years when he and Erin had taken the mission to spy on a dark guild known as Hades' Will._

 _A few days after that, Erin had shown up, heartbroken and carrying his best friend in his arms. While they were preparing to leave, Erin had approached Juvia and asked to speak with her private. Then, he had told her in detail what had happened. How he and Gray had found Hades' Will, how they had been discovered and ambushed on the way to the rendezvous point, and how they had made their escape. At the end of the discussion, and with tears in his eyes, he had pulled a black box out of his pocket and given it to her, saying that Gray had given it to him to give to her. "He said he hoped you would say yes," Erin had said as Juvia opened the box, revealing a silver engagement ring with a deep blue sapphire in the middle of a group of diamonds. Juvia had put a hand over her mouth as a sob burst forth, and she had collapsed to her knees, unwilling to carry on without Gray._

 _Juvia snapped out of her flashback as a fire bolt struck the ground next to her. Turning around, she let loose a high pressure blast of water at her attacker forcing him to duck to the right as he dodged her attack. Following up with a blade of water that was aimed at his ankles, Juvia engaged in a dance of death with her attacker, who let out an evil cackle as he danced away from all of her attacks and countered with flaming fists and kicks that kept Juvia off balance and prevented her from countering as she wanted to. Finally, her attacker got careless and lunged at her with a flaming left jab, which she dodged and countered with a blast of water that caught the wizard in the chest and scalded his skin to a crisp. As he collapsed to the ground, writhing in pain, Juvia heard a familiar voice call out for her. "Yes, Erza?" Juvia darted across the clearing to the requip mage, using the cover of an explosion from Erin's latest Hurricane Volley to reach the other side of the clearing without taking a hit. "We have to get everyone out of here!" Erza shouted, ducking a blast of magic. "We won't last against their numbers, so as soon as we can we need to move camp!" "Understood, Erza. I'll do what I can." With that she darted towards a group of five, taking them all out with a Water Slicer that took all five of them out._

 _Twenty minutes later, the wizards of Fairy Tail had taken out most of the attacking force. As they watched the last of the attackers group together, Erza let loose a battle cry and led the final charge towards the enemy. Erin took the opportunity and let loose a Tornado Strike, which took out five of the remaining thirty wizards. Erza and Gildarts paired up, wading through a group of ten with their melee attacks. Laxus let loose a Lightning Dragon Roar, taking down three of them, while Natsu dashed through five more with a Fire Dragon Sword Horn. Juvia struck with a blast of water, knocking two more on their asses._

 _Eventually, there was only one wizard standing. Erza strode forward. "Do you surrender? For we can continue if you so desire." "Oh, I'll surrender, dearie. The rest of our forces will be here within the hour, and you do look a little worse for wear, so I don't think that you'll survive that one." "Everyone, get moving. We have to get out of here before they arrive!" Juvia nodded, and went to rush through the trees at the far end of the clearing, only to stop as a blinding pain struck her lower back. Crying out, she collapsed, followed by a cackling from the lone enemy who remained in the clearing. "So sorry, gorgeous, but orders are orders. Catch ya later!" With a maniacal laugh, he took off out of the clearing before anyone else noticed what had happened. Finally, a scream sounded throughout the clearing as Cana rushed to her friend's side. "Oh my God, Juvia! Hang on, we'll get you some help as soon as we find somewhere safe!" "There's so much blood. I don't know if she'll make it." Erza said, a look of dread on her face as she picked up the blue haired wizard._

" _C'mon, Juvia, stay with us." Cana said, as she stared at the blue-haired woman. Cana had been near Juvia since they had left the clearing, concerned for her friend. Suddenly, a hand grabbed Cana's collar and dragged her close. "Cana. In my…pocket, there….there is a box. Pull it out, please." "Juvia! Save your strength, you're going to be fine." Cana tried to comfort her friend, but Juvia shook her head weakly. "Just do it! There…there isn't a lot of time." Cana did as she said, and held the box out to her. Juvia smiled. "Can you…can you open it for me please?" Cana did, and then gasped as she saw the ring inside. "Juvia, who gave this to you?! It's gorgeous!" "Can you put it on my hand, please?" "Of course." As she did, a look of peace came over Juvia's face. Juvia's lips moved, and Cana leaned in to catch it. Then she sobbed, as Juvia's breath stopped. Cana stood, and turned weeping, towards the rest of the guild._

 _Erza stepped forward, sadness in her eyes. "What…what did she say?" More sobs wracked Cana's body as she stated the Rain Woman's final words._

" _Gray, I do."_

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 **Told you guys you were gonna hate me! I almost teared up when I wrote those final words. Hope you guys enjoyed the little bit of action in there, but I'm not very good at writing that stuff yet. If you have any advice, or if you enjoyed, leave a review. Later guys! Storm Out!**


	5. Signs of a Counter Offensive

**Hey guys! I know, right? Two chapters in one day? Crazy! But I caught the writing bug and I'm ready to get this story moving! But anyways, I got another review to respond to. Righel: Did you really think it was that good? I still need work on my writing, so I didn't think it was. In other news, I start winter semester classes tomorrow, and I found a new anime addiction! If you haven't watched The Seven Deadly Sins on Netflix, I highly recommend it. The entire series was compelling and flowed really well, and I would assume there is going to be another season, and I can't wait! Anyways, enough of my ramblings. Storm Out! Enjoy!**

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"Absolutely not!" Erza slammed her iron-clad fist on the table in the center of the cavern, concern coloring her features. "It's too dangerous to engage a force like that head on!" "But I'm not saying we engage them head on!" Gajeel practically growled at the requip mage. He put his head in his palm. "Basically, we split into pairs and divide the main force between our best fighters. Sort of a divide and conquer strategy, if ya will." "I still say it's too dangerous. We've seen the power the enemy possesses. They've managed to take down nearly our entire guild. And just recently. With Gray, Lucy, and Juvia, they've managed to take out three of our best remaining fighters-" "WHICH IS EXACTLY WHY WE SHOULD STRIKE FIRST!" an angry shout came from the other side of the cavern, and everyone turned to see Natsu standing on the far side of the cavern, his fist embedded in the pillar that he had just punched, which slowly crumbled away. "If we just sit here and do nothing, they will just continue to pick us off! They've already taken more away from us then most could handle-"At this, he broke down, collapsing to his knees sobbing. "Lucy, I'm sorry. If I had gotten there quicker…if I had just gone with you, instead of staying here." The others sat there, feeling for the Fire Dragon Slayer. They wished that there was something they could do, but Gajeel and Laxus had explained it to them what Natsu was going through. They just couldn't imagine the pain he was going through. No longer was he carefree, fun-loving Salamander that they knew and loved. Now, he was cold and focused when he had something to do, but when he was left with nothing to do, he was, in a word, broken. Silent, distant, and prone to violent outbursts against the numerous rock formations in the cavern, completely reducing them to rubble.

"Natsu is right. We need to start taking the offensive approach." Everyone turned to see Erin still at the table where they held their meetings. "We've been reacting to everything that the Alliance has thrown our way, and its cost us dearly. We need to start doing what Fairy Tail does best. Act, don't react." "Exactly!" Gajeel exclaimed, striding forward to stand by the storm wizard. "If we launch an attack, the Alliance won't know what hit them." Erza bowed her head. She knew that all three of them spoke sense, but one thing held her back. "I can't lose any more!" she yelled. "I've already lost too much. My childhood, my friends, my family, the guild…I can't bear the thought of losing what little remains…" She trailed off as Erin wrapped his arms around her, turning and sobbing into his chest.

"I know how you feel, Red," Erin said, using her old nickname from when they first started dating. "But if we stay on the defensive, we'll die without having done anything to stop the Alliance, and we'll just keep losing." Erin sighed as he looked at the ceiling of the chamber. If we have any chance of surviving this, we HAVE to launch an attack. It's the only choice we have left." Tears began to stream from his eyes as he looked back at Erza. "Plus, if we must die, we'll make sure they never forget our names, and that the guild of Fairy Tail will go down in legend as the greatest guild in all of Fiore. But I CAN not and WILL not sit back and watch as I lose everyone I care about to those monsters."

The room fell silent, everyone looking at the pair in the center. After the impassioned speech from Erin, they waited to see how his lover would respond. Finally, Erza looked up into Erin's eyes. "You're right. Why do you always have to be right?" "Because I'm just that good." He responded with a smile. He glanced around at the others. "Well," he said, a look of determination on his face, "what are you all waiting for? We've got a counterattack to plan."

"So we'll use Gajeel's plan, but we have to pick and choose where we fight them. If any non-magical people get involved, then…" "They won't. They know to steer clear of wizard fights. But anyways, how are we going to split up?" Laxus queried, a thoughtful look in his eyes. "That's easy. We'll pair up." Erin said with a determined smirk. "I'll go with Gajeel. My long-range attacks should pair well with his techniques." "Sounds like a plan!" Gajeel remarked, clenching his fist. "In that case, I shall go with Mira. Our enemies will tremble before us." Erza stated, a steely glint in her eye. "Are you sure?" Mira said, a mischievous edge to her tone. "I don't know if Little Miss Armor can handle that kind of pressure!" "I do believe I could ask the same of you, She-Devil." Erza said, returning the joke in full. "Alright, break it up, ladies, you're both pretty." Laxus said, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "I'll go with Natsu. Somebody's gotta make sure that he's able to stop himself, and I wouldn't mind being able to let loose on these Alliance bastards myself." "Oh, yeah, now I'm all fired up," Natsu growled, menace in every syllable he uttered. "Those bastards are going to pay a thousand times over for taking my Lucy away from me." "In that case," Gildarts said, standing to his full height, "I'll take Elfman with me." "Damn straight!" Elfman roared. "A real man makes his enemies pay for hurting his friends, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a real man!" "We'll stay behind and watch camp." Alzack said, walking up to the table with Bisca and Asuka in tow. "As will we." Cana and Levy said. "If they think they can attack here, they've got another thing coming!" "Alright, then it's settled." Erza said. "We leave at dawn, and we'll split up at the base of the mountain. Happy hunting!"

"Oh, yeah," Erin whispered, fire in his eyes. "Fairy Tail is back!"

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 **OH YEAH! Finally, a chapter without a death! I realize that up until now, and even in the first half of this chapter, the characters are slightly (or in Natsu's case this chapter,** _ **very**_ **) OOC, but remember, these guys are going through one of the darkest times their guild has ever seen. So bear with me, please. But anyway, should have some action, and** _ **MAYBE**_ **a little bit of fluff in the next couple of chapters. Once again, any feedback is most appreciated. Peace, guys! Storm OUT!**


	6. Positive Mindset

**What's up, guys! Here's Chapter six of Extinction! This Author Note will be a bit short, because I want to write at least another chapter for this and a prologue for another story that has been bouncing around my head. Warning for fluff and sexual insinuations. See ya later! Storm Out!  
**

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The gentle sound of breathing reached Erin's ears, and he ran his hands through the red hair in front of him. A contented sigh was his sign to continue, and he continued to massage Erza's scalp while she sat there, the blankets bunched around them from their earlier activities. He loved seeing her like this, when her walls were down, and she was opening and trusting. He loved that he was the only one to see when she was vulnerable. It brought back memories of nights spent out on the rooftops of Magnolia, of stargazing and cloud watching, of secrets told and kept, of promises made and wounds soothed. It was a ritual when they lived in Magnolia that they would spend summer nights on his roof, watching the stars and just enjoying the other's company.

Erza sighed as she felt Erin's fingers massage her scalp. She always teased him that if he quit Fairy Tail, he should start a masseuse business, and she was only half joking, his fingers were magic as he slowly moved from her head to her bare shoulders, working through all the tension that he found. Suddenly, she gasped and almost fell over as his fingers released a particularly large knot. "Sensitive, Red?" Erin asked, a small smiling toying with one corner of his mouth. "No thanks to you," she returned. "You're just…really good at that." He allowed himself a brief smile at that. "Anything for a queen like you. Now, lay down, so I can get the rest of you." Obliging, Erza lay down on her stomach, presenting her naked back to Erin, who moved so that he sat astride her ass. Sending a small pulse of electricity to his hands, he got started on Erza's back and shoulders, sending Erza into fits of ecstasy as the electricity caused a heated tingling to run down her spine. It had been so long since they had been together like this, she had almost forgotten just _how_ good he was at massages. If he didn't stop, she was going to-

Suddenly, the tingling stopped as Erin removed his hands and moved off of Erza. "What-what are you doing? Why did you stop?" Erin smirked as he laid down next to her. "Can't be making too much noise, now can we, Red?" "And that means you have to stop?" Erin fixed her with a knowing glance. "Miss Scarlet, you and I both know that if I had continued with that massage, you would have woken everybody up. One of the things I love is that you are-how do I say this-very _vocal_." "Gee, thanks, Erin." Erza said, pouting comically. Erin laughed quietly, burying his nose in his girlfriend's hair. "That was supposed to be a compliment, Red. You know if I had my way, you'd be hoarse before midnight." "Well, well, well. I should be worried about the integrity of the man I share time with." Erin drew back, a hand over his heart and his face set in an expression of fake shock. "You wound my pride, Titania. You know I have but the best of intentions for you." He wrapped Erza in his arms as she buried her head in his bare chest, playing with the toned muscles of his chest and the slight trail of hair that led beneath the blanket that covered their legs.

"Something bothering you, love? You're awfully quiet." "I'm just worried." Erza said, gazing up into Erin's eyes. "What happens if something goes wrong tomorrow? We won't be near enough to assist if someone gets hurt, and if we assume wrong and they just go all out against one pair, then-" "Sh." Erin stopped her before she got into the rambling that was coming on with stress and worry. "We just have to have faith that they play into our hands. As for the other, if it all goes according to plan, then there's nothing to worry about. We'll take them down and send a message to the Alliance that we're done running. That's all there is to it." "But if something happens to you, then I don't know what I'd do." Erin sighed, and crushed Erza against his chest. "You'd carry on leading the guild through the end. You'd help your friends, because that's who you are, Erza. That's why we've made it this far, is because you never gave up. None of us did. And we won't give up until this is over." "But if you die tomorrow, or get wounded…" Erza trailed off, real worry dancing around her face. Erin sighed, and started to put his pants back on. "Where are you going?" Erza asked, making to get up. "Just get dressed and meet me outside, okay?" "Okay." Erza got up, put a pair of shorts and Erin's shirt on, and walked outside of the cave, making sure not to wake up anyone on the way out.

A couple minutes later, Erin walked out, a form-fitting white shirt playing havoc with Erza's emotions and making a certain area _very_ warm. "Can we take a walk?" Erin said, drawing Erza's mind back from the gutter. They began to walk along the path that ran down the cliff from the cave, holding hands and enjoying each other's company. "Do you remember the day we started dating?" Erin asked, breaking the silence. "Of course. It was after our first S-Class mission, and we had both gotten beat up pretty bad." Erza replied, a smile tugging at her mouth. That memory always brought a smile to her face. They had both had a crush on the other for the longest time, but were too scared to admit it to each other until then.

It was a month after they had been certified as S-Class wizards, and they had taken a mission together to prove that they deserved the title. On the way back, Erza had gotten up to use the restroom on the train and had come back to see Erin mentally preparing himself to admit his feelings, and he had looked mortified when he turned around to see Erza standing outside the compartment with her hand raised to enter. After learning that he felt the same about her that she felt about him, she rushed in and hugged him, which had caught the awkwardly tall teenage Erin by surprise and sent him stumbling into their luggage and tripping into the side of the train. They had often shared a laugh looking back on the memory.

"Do you remember that night?" Erin asked, looking at the sky. "Yes," Erza said, wondering what he was getting at, "that was the first night we spent together on your roof." "Yeah. I'll always remember the promise I made to you that night. The one promise to you that I didn't keep." Erza was confused as Erin turned to face her, a nervous look on his face. "I promised that from that day on, I would protect you, that no harm would come to you while I was with you." "Erin, you know that's impossible. Even you can't protect me from everything." "I know, but it's still a promise that I couldn't keep. And I'd like to make up for that by making a promise to you that I will keep to my dying breath." Erza gasped as Erin got down on one knee and pulled out a crimson drawstring bag. Opening it, he pulled out a gorgeous silver ring, with a glittering ruby and a shining topaz stone surrounded by diamonds. "Erza Scarlet, these last five years have been some of the best of my life. We've gone through so much, we've fought, we've cried, but we've pulled through together and have become stronger together. So, I would like to make a promise to be by your side from now on. Even if thousands of miles separate us, just know you will always be the first thought that crosses my mind in the morning, and the last thing I think of as I fall asleep. Erza, would you do me the honor of marrying me?"

Erza gasped, tears springing up in her eyes. This man, the man who had fought for her, beside her, and with her for five years, who had helped her through some of her darkest times, and who had remained strong through the darkest time Fairy Tail had ever seen, was asking her to marry him. Smiling, she took the ring and slid it on the ring finger of her left hand.

"Yes, Erin. A thousand times over, yes!"

* * *

 **Actual happy chapters make me so happy! And hooray for fluff and dirtiness! Just a warning for readers, there will be no smut in this story unless it gets to a point that I am extremely confident in my writing and feel like writing an epilogue to this story. It will not be a part of the main story, so sorry 'boutcha! Anyways, see ya later! Storm Out!**


	7. Divide and Conquer

**Hey guys! Here's chapter seven, and finally, FINALLY we get to see a fight, or in this case, several different fights. Oh, and I got another review to respond to.**

 **Righel: There are no plans for any deaths** _ **yet**_ **, at least not for those two. But, with the way my head works, who knows what could happen. Btw, you are currently my favorite reviewer. Thanks for the feedback!**

 **Just a warning, this chapter gets a little dark at times, and is very long, easily 2500+ words, so apologies in advance! Okay, enough of the preliminary stuff. LET'S KICK SOME ASS! STORM OUT!**

* * *

"Alright, everyone clear on the plan?" Erza said, receiving a multitude of nods in return. "Okay. If all goes well, I'll see you back here tonight. Good luck, and happy hunting!" With that, she took off down the cliff, looking back to make sure everybody was off. She nodded to Erin, who turned and followed Gajeel east to the forest, blowing her a kiss before vanishing around the corner. Natsu and Laxus had already left, heading south, and Elfman and Gildarts took off, heading north towards the mountains. "Alright, Mira," Erza said, a look of determination on her face, "Let's go hunting." "Right behind you, Erza." Mira growled, a purple glow outlining her figure. Erza nodded, a feral grin adorning her lips. "Damn right."

* * *

 _Unknown location, same day._

"Sir, multiple reports of Fairy Tail members in and around major cities throughout Fiore!" A grunt exclaimed, turning and facing the shadowy figure at the back of the room. "Who, where, and how many?" The figure said, leaning towards the grunt. "Scarlet and the She-Devil were seen near the town of Clover. Cyclone and Black Steel are in the East Forest. Salamander and Laxus were sighted on the outskirts of Port Hargeon. And Elfman and Gildarts are currently located in Magnolia, sir!" "Excellent, Ericson. Tell Jenkins to send out attack squads of twenty to each location. We will finally crush Fairy Tail once and for all, and then we will conquer Fiore!" the man laughed, the insanity in his voice causing the grunt to back away a few paces before turning and running to carry out the orders. The man leaned back in his chair, still chuckling to himself. "I cannot wait to watch the final moments of the legendary Fairy Tail. I've waited so long for this moment, and now, I can TASTE it! It will be my greatest victory!" He exclaimed, the maniacal laughter returning with a vengeance. Fitting, because that's what he was after.

* * *

 _Port Hargeon, midday._

The cloaked figures moved towards the outskirts of the factory building, keeping a watchful eye out for their prey. "They've got to be around here somewhere," the leader muttered to himself. Turning he addressed his troops. "Fan out! They could be anywhere!" "Funny you should say that." A dark voice came from behind him, immediately sending shivers down his spine. Turning around, he drew his saber, only to have it knocked from his grasp by a roundhouse kick that continued and caught him in the gut, sending him flying backwards. "Shame on you, Natsu!" Came another voice from up in the rafters. "How many times did Igneel tell you not to play with prey?" The leader stood, coughing violently as he tried to place his injuries. _'Broken ribs, at least three. Might have also broken my sternum. We don't stand a chance!'_ The owner of the second voice leaped down, leaving a crater where he landed, and shrugged off the overcoat he wore, revealing a long-sleeved button down shirt. "Nice of you to drop in, Laxus. What do you think of our odds?" "Twenty on two? It'll be over before we can really enjoy it." "Hear, hear." With that, Natsu rushed at the cloaked figures, igniting his fists along the way. " **Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!** " He yelled rushing through the first ten enemies and leaving six of them dead, before ducking out of the way. "Ha! Too scared to take us all out, Fairy scum?!" the leader yelled. Natsu fixed him with an iron glare. "No, just letting my nakama get some of the action." " **Lightning Dragon's Roar!** " With that, eight of the remaining attackers were shocked to death, and the rest were blinded and stunned by the ferocity of the two attacks. In no time flat, Natsu took down the remaining five, leaving only the leader. "Search him, Natsu." Laxus growled, walking up to the man and hoisting him up by the collar of his cloak. "Lookie here, details on the base!" Natsu sang, showing Laxus what he had found in the man's trouser pocket. "Anything else?" Laxus asked. "Nope. So what do we do with him?" Natsu questioned, walking over to stand next to Laxus. "I have an idea."

Laxus dug a steel-toed boot into the side of the man, who coughed up blood and groaned. "Oy, ass hat. I have a question for you." "I ain't telling you shit, scum." "Just a question about someone. Did you have anything to do with the death of a blonde wizard by the name of Lucy Heartfilia?" "Oh, her. I didn't personally, but I heard she screamed nice and loud before she-" that was as far as he got before Natsu roundhouse kicked him in the jaw, sending him careening into some boxes. "I'm done with this scum-fucker." Natsu growled, a feral snarl breaking through his mouth. "Me too," Laxus said. "On three?" "One, two, THREE!" " **Lightning Ash! Thor's Wrath!** " Laxus yelled, a bolt of pure lightning racing towards the man. " **Flame Lotus! Exploding Phoenix Blade!** " Natsu cried, a lance of searing blue-white fire dashing towards the man. " **Magic Combination! Odin's Vengeful Lightning Flame!** " They both screamed as the two attacks melded together halfway to the target. The cloaked man barely had time to gasp before the attack struck him, blowing him and the factory around him to high heaven.

Natsu spat on the ashes when the dust cleared. "Have fun in hell, fucker. I hope you burn."

* * *

 _Clover, Midday_

The gaggle of hooded figures dug through the cave underneath Clover. "Comb every inch. Find them and kill them!" The leader yelled. They had already been here since midmorning, and they hadn't found anything. The leader was getting stressed at not having found anything, and was just about to have his men pull back, when he heard something that chilled him to the core. "Well, well. Look what we have here," a kind, girly voice sang from behind him, "a bunch of boys trying to find something they lost." "Well," a different voice said from his right, one carrying the weight of judgement and authority. "You know, they look a little lost themselves." Slowly turning around, the leader saw two women step out from behind a wall, a redhead with armor on, and a white-haired beauty in a red dress. "Well, hello, ladies. Are you lost?" "No," the white-haired woman smiled, "in fact, we just found what we were looking for." "Oh?" The leader said, backing towards his men. "And what is that?" "A bunch of cloaked men who refer to themselves as Hell's Embrace." The leader of the group paled. These were the people they were looking for, but the only hope they had was to catch them by surprise. Now he was facing two of the most powerful wizards in Fairy Tail, with only twenty men. "And now," Mira said, "we get to take out the trash! **Takeover Magic: Satan Soul!** " A purple light covered the woman's body, and when it faded, she had completely changed. The group of men backed away slowly, and the leader stuttered in fear and awe. "It's-It's-It's the She-Devil!" "Hey," Erza said, "Don't forget about me." A golden light sheathed her body, and when it dimmed, she had requipped into her Purgatory armor, black and grey, with spikes covering it. She touched the oversized mace to her shoulder as she glared down at the group of men. "I shall give you a moment to pray to whomever you wish. After that, your lives are forfeit for crimes against my guild." As she said that, Mira rushed forward, tearing through their foes with savage fury. Erza annihilated the remaining grunts with a single swing of her mace. The leader fell to his knees, utterly terrified. The two women glared at him, venom in their eyes.

Finally, Erza spoke. "As leader of Fairy Tail, I pass judgement on you for crimes against the guild. Mira, if you would assist me in the execution." "Certainly, Guild Master." With that, Erza requipped into her most powerful armor, the Fairy's Legend Armor. Her body was covered in a form-fitting iron leggings, with a band of iron around her chest, with wings spreading from the back. The helmet was a true helmet, open-faced and with the Fairy Tail guild mark emblazoned on each side. When she was ready, she nodded to Mira, who charged up her magical power, and rushed at the leader. " **Evil Cannon!** " Mira roared. The attack met Erza's bladestaff, and the two shouted, " **Magic Combination! Oberon's Torturous Darkness!** " The cloaked figure screamed in unimaginable pain as his body was rent limb from limb.

Finally, after the man had died, Erza and Mira looked down at the body. "May your soul never find rest. You have only begun to atone for your sins."

* * *

 _Magnolia, midday._

The leader of the attack squad looked around, and didn't like what he saw. Half of his squad was a ways away, fighting against the Crash Wizard Gildarts. The other half was here with him, fighting Beast Arm Elfman, and the fight was going very badly indeed. He glanced back at his fight, and froze. Elfman was glowing, and seconds later he shouted. " **Takeover Magic: Beast Soul!** " The white-haired man grew in size until he was right over the group of men in front of him, and swept them aside with one blow. "THAT WAS FOR OUR GUILD HALL!" The monster growled, as the leader coughed up blood and tried to stand, only to fall in agony as pain flared along his spine. "Men, report!" Silence greeted his shout. "Report!" More silence. Suddenly, pained screams tore through the air followed by a shout from Fairy Tail's ace. " **Crash Magic: Meteor's Impact!** " The screams were suddenly silenced by a massive crash, and a huge crater appeared around the red-haired man. Climbing out of the crater he had created, the Crash Magic user joined the Beast as they glanced down at the leader of the attack squad. "So what do we do with him?" Elfman asked. "Can't just let him walk away, now, can we?" "Nope." With that, both wizards swung a fist at the leader, whose eyes widened. " **Magic Combination! Beast King's Hammer!** "

Elfman glared at the crushed remains of the leader of the attack squad. "You deserve the death of a coward. Be honored that your soul was sent to hell with the death of a man."

* * *

 _East Forest, Mid afternoon_

"Geez, you guys are slow." The tall wizard called, hands in the pockets of his leather jacket. "It's a wonder you could give us so much trouble." "Shut up!" The leader shouted. The lanky Fairy Tail wizard had been dodging his squad's attacks for the better part of an hour, and he was starting to get on his nerves. "Stand still and let us kill you!" "And why would I do that?" Erin asked, a smile gracing his face. Suddenly he stopped. The leader, overconfident, rushed into the clearing that Erin had stopped in. "Finally, we caught you!" The leader stopped talking as Erin burst into fits of raucous laughter. "Why are you laughing?" "Because-Because-oh my god-you guys really don't know when to give up!" "What!" The leader was starting to worry for the mental well-being of his prey when screams erupted from the rear of his group. Whirling around, he found himself face to face with none other than Black Steel Gajeel, and his Iron Dragon Sword. "Poor bastards never even saw what hit them. Now, answer our question, and we might consider letting you die quickly." Erin glared at the leader, who backed up a couple of steps before tripping over his feet. "I have just one question for you." Erin growled, all traces of mirth gone from his character. "Were you the one who ordered the attack on myself and Gray Fullbuster?" The man sighed, and started to laugh. "Not only was I the one who ordered it, I was the one who killed him." He continued to laugh as Erin shook in rage. "You have sealed your fate." "On go, Erin?" "Exactly." As the two wizards backed off, the leader howled with laughter. "They are coming for you! There is nowhere you can hide from the Nocturnal Alliance, nowhere you can run! They will find you, and you will all perish!" Erin turned and growled at him. "Shut. Up." " **Iron Dragon's Roar** " " **Hurricane's Final Destruction!** " As the two attacks launched towards their target, the leader's face contorted with dread. " **Magic Combination! Galvanized Steel Dragon's Rage!** " The attack hit its target full-force, and the target disintegrated with the magic force contained within it.

After the explosion ended, Erin walked over to the stain on the grass that was all that remained of the man who killed his best friend. "Hell is too kind for you, fuckhole." Erin snarled. "If I had my way, you would endure that a million times over, and not be half done with your punishment. You took a great man from his guild, his friends, and his woman, and the only consolation that I have is that my best friends are together again. I will see you again in hell, and I will kill you over and over again until I feel you have endured enough torment." "God damn, Cyclone. That was dark." Gajeel said, walking over to the tall wizard, only to stop as he saw a tear roll down his cheek. "I meant every word." Erin said, his voice cracking a little from emotion. "Gray was a great man, and one who should have lived a long and healthy life, but instead he lost his life at the hands of this pathetic fucker." "Then let us honor his memory by taking out every last god damned one of those Alliance assholes." "Damn right."

* * *

 _Unknown location._

The man slammed his hand down on the desk in front of him. "You're telling me that we lost all of our men, and not one of them was killed?!" "Yes, sir." Erikson bowed his head as he knelt before the Alliance leader. He trembled slightly as the man raged. The attack forces had failed, and spectacularly at that. "There's nothing we can do now! So we wait for them to make their move, and answer. That is the plan going forward. Understood?" "Y-Yes, sir." "Good, dismissed."

* * *

 _Mt. Hakobe, evening_

' _Where are they?'_ Erza thought, long past the point of worry. Everyone else had returned hours before nightfall, including Gajeel, who would only say that Erin had wanted to come back separately. That had been before the sun had set, and now the stars were high in the sky. Erza had always loved watching stars. They always looked like tiny diamonds, and their set paths were a small bit of certainty in their hectic lives. "Don't you worry, Erza, ol' Hurricane'll be fine." Gajeel said, as he came out to comfort her for the umpteenth time. "How can you be so sure?" Erza asked, as she turned to look at the Iron Dragon Slayer. "Because I know what he heard." Gajeel said, fixing his crimson eyes on her. "Today, during our fight, the leader of the group we fought was the man who killed Gray. And while he deserved what we did to him in the end, Erin felt bad for the attack we used on him. He thought Gray deserved better than a millisecond of pain and then disintegration, he just took a little time to gather his thoughts." Erza sighed. So that was why Erin hadn't come back yet…

"Speak of the devil," Gajeel said, "'sup, Cyclone? Feeling better?" "Yeah," a very tired looking Erin said as he topped the cliff outside the cave. "Thanks for understanding." Erza rushed him, nearly tackling him over the edge of the cliff. "Easy there, Red. I don't really feel like skydiving tonight." Gajeel turned, waving to them as he chuckled. "Guess I'll leave you two to it." "Do you have any idea how worried I was?" Erza said, backing off and putting her hands on her hips. "I know, I know. I'm sorry, Erza. As penance for my misdeed, how about we sleep out here tonight?" Erin said, a crooked smile on his face. "Don't you dare tempt me like that, I'm trying to be mad at you!" Erza said, trying to maintain her serious appearance, but, sad to say, failing miserably. The prospect of having an entire night to themselves, away from the ears of the rest of the guild, made Erza more than a little excited. "I might refuse. What about that?" She said, trying to keep her mind off of the idea of what _exactly_ they would do instead of sleep. "But you won't." Erin said knowingly. "Listen, Erza, I am truly sorry for worrying you like that. I should have at least come back first before going out to gather my thoughts." Erza sighed, and wrapped her arms around her fiancée. "It's fine, Mr. Tall, Troubled and Handsome. Gajeel told me who that guy was." "Are you sure?" "Listen. You did Gray justice by the way you fought. That's all you can do. If you're worried that you didn't let the bastard suffer enough, then you're worrying about the wrong things." Erin sighed, then looked down at the scarlet-haired wizard. "You're right. How does that always happen? You're the one who was worried, and yet you end up comforting me." "Cause that's what I do." Erza said.

Erin laughed at that. "Yeah, that and clear out dark guild members like it's nothing." They both started laughing, glad that the other was okay. Then, Erin glanced down at Erza, eyes filled with love, making Erza blush with the intensity of his gaze. "Now, come on. I want to make good on my punishment." Erza responded with a laugh. "Oh, goodness, you're being punished by sleeping under the stars with a woman." Erin leaned in close with a smirk and whispered, "Then allow me to take you to bed." Erza blushed as he walked away, then made to follow. It was going to be a very fun punishment indeed.

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 **Holy shit, that was a long one. I didn't want to just sop in the middle of all the fights, and that last scene was just too good in my mind to cut. I meant to have this up yesterday afternoon, but shit happens, so it's not going up until now. Sorry! Anyways, leave a review, and sorry for the rather dark content. Storm Out!**


	8. Darkness Falls

**Alright! Here's Chapter Eight of Extinction, and this story is now up over 500 views, so YAY! Anyways, I put up a new story on my profile. It's called What Will It Take, and it follows the gang through college, including my OC from this story, Erin. If you want to go check it out, go ahead, and leave a review telling me what you think! Anyways, let's get into this chapter. Hope you guys don't hate me for it! Storm Out!**

* * *

 _Western Desert of Fiore_

"Sir, it would appear we found them." The grunt knelt in front of him, head bowed in fear. "Where, Ericson? Where is that infernal guild located?" The man leaned forward, a manic glint in his one good eye. "They are hiding out in a cave near the peak of Mount Hakobe, sir." "Mount Hakobe, huh? Excellent work Ericson, you are dismissed. Tell Jenkins to send as many men as he thinks are necessary, to capture as many as possible. I want them brought before me." "Yes, sir." As Ericson left, the man looked in the mirror located across from him. His once handsome face was marred by a great scar that ran down the right side of his face. His purple hair was slicked back into a ponytail, and his goatee just added to the evil look on his face. ' _Yes._ ' He thought, a grin appearing on half of his face. ' _With that ignorant geezer Makarov out of the way, they cannot face me._ ' Chuckling to himself, he leaned back in his winged chair.

It was time for the Phantom Lord to reveal himself.

* * *

 _Mount Hakobe, midday_

"It'll be fine, Levy." Gajeel said, rolling his eyes at his mate's worried expression. "We're just going to town for supplies, and we'll be back before nightfall." "I know, it's just…" Levy turned away, unable to keep the worry out of her eyes. Gajeel sighed, then took Levy off to the side. "Listen, Shrimp. It'll be a cinch. Me, Cyclone, Salamander, and Laxus are gonna go to a village at the base of the mountain to get food and blankets, and that won't take long, but then we've got to hike back up the mountain, and that will take a while. But still, yer only gonna be without me until nightfall at the very latest." "I just don't like it!" Levy exclaimed, almost tackling Gajeel in a hug. "I've got a really bad feeling that something's gonna happen." Gajeel crushed her in his arms, wrapping her in a steel cage of protection. "I don't like it any more than you do, Shrimp, but we _need_ those supplies if we're gonna survive." Gajeel said, burying his face in her hair. "I promise that I'll hurry back to you." "You'd better." Levy warned, with about as much intimidation as an angered teddy bear. Gajeel laughed. "Alright, shorty. We'd better get going."

As the group set off down the mountain, Erin approached Gajeel. "Hey, Gaj, can I talk to you?" "What's up, Erin?" Gajeel turned and face the taller wizard, who had a look of worry on his visage. "You have a dragon's natural instincts, right?" "Yeah, so?" "Okay, because I have something like that, because of the storm magic, and it's going crazy right now." "I know," Gajeel said with a frown, "but we _need_ this stuff to live." "Yeah, you're right. But did we have to leave the girls back at the cave?" "Not my call, man, not my call." Erin nodded, and that was the end of the conversation. But neither wizard could get rid of the feeling of dread that hung over the group.

* * *

Levy kicked a rock she found around her and Gajeel's portion of the cave. She was sick and tired of sitting around while Gajeel and the others saved the guild. Glancing over, she saw Mira, Erza, Cana, and Evergreen waiting by the table in the center of the room. Hurrying over to them, she opened her mouth to speak, only to be cut off by a dark chuckle. Spinning around she came face to face with a giant man in a cloak, rivaling Erin in height, but outweighing him by a good two hundred pounds. But the cackle had come from a skinny man who was sitting…on the ceiling. "Who are you? Answer me, or face the wrath of Fairy Tail." Erza demanded, authority in every syllable. "Oh, we're no one special." The skinny man sighed as he lumped off the ceiling, landing cat-like on the floor of the cave. "Just a pair of mercenaries hired by Lord Phantom to capture as many as we could. Toboyashi, if you would." Hearing his name, the giant took action. He strode forward, and before any of them could react, he slammed the hammer that he wielded into the floor. Faster than any of the girls could follow, vines shot out from the ground and attempted to ensnare them. Levy and Cana were caught immediately, while Evergreen and Mira took off to avoid them, only to be smashed by Toboyashi's hammer. Erza requipped into her flight armor, launching past the vines in an attempt to escape. "Ah, ah, ah, sweetie. We can't have that." Looking around, Erza spied the skinny merc pop out of a pillar, and cast a spell before she could dodge. " **Distortion Magic: Sleep Zone!** " Unable to dodge she closed her eyes, willing Erin and the others not to come after them.

* * *

"Alright," Laxus whispered to the group, "we're here. Keep contact to a minimum, and only get essentials. Understood?" everyone nodded, and they set off to conduct their business. Everyone stayed hushed as they bought enough food from the villagers to last through two months. Half an hour later, they met up at the north edge of the village. "Okay, everyone, let's get back. Don't want to keep anyone waiting."

* * *

"Hey! Where is everybody?" Natsu yelled as they got back to the cave. Gajeel approached the entrance to the cave, dreading what he would see when he reached the entrance. Peering inside, he saw something that inspired fear in the deepest part of his heart. It was clear that magicians had found their hideout, as the signs of a struggle were evident. Vines littered the stone floor of the cave, and the table in the center was broken clean in half. Gajeel turned and walked towards the center of the cave "Shrimp?" He called out, hoping beyond hope that he would get an answer besides the silence that pressed heavily on his ears. "Someone must have found them." Laxus growled. "They launched a sneak attack when they knew we were gone." Gajeel bowed his head, and then stood and strode towards a pillar as something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. Reaching it, he pulled the object out, and then walked towards the others. "Well, at least we have something to go on." He showed them what he had found, the card shimmering in the light and wet with blood. Natsu leaned in and sniffed at the card, then drew back, his nose working overtime. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open. "I've got then scent! Let's go!"

* * *

 **Told ya you would hate me! Go ahead and leave a review for the climax of the story. I'm predicting that we're gonna have about five to seven more chapters, then an epilogue(?) if those do well. See ya! Storm Out!**


	9. Allies from Unlikely Places

**Alright! So I'm back from a bout with writer's block, and while I was gone from this story, I pumped out two or three chapters on my second one, What Will It Take. If you guys are interested, go ahead and check it out on my profile. I am looking for a beta reader for that one, so PM me if you are interested!**

 **I DON'T OWN FAIRY TAIL. :( It belongs to Hiro Mashima.**

 ***Spells*** _*Thoughts*_ *Everything else*

 **Anyways guys, follow and review if you like it, and I'll see you later! Storm Out!**

* * *

Erza woke up stiffly, shivering in the cold. Drawing the thin blanket towards her, she reached out across the bed for Erin, only to come up with empty air. She sat bolt upright, gazing around wildly at the unfamiliar stone cell she was in, until the memory of what had happened the previous day caught up to her. _I'm sorry, Erin._ She hung her head as the weight of where they were hit her like a ton of bricks. A tear rolled down her cheek as she realized that she may never see her guild again. Faces flashed before her eyes. _Natsu, Gajeel, Laxus, Elfman, Alzack, Bisca, Asuka...Erin._ Her resolved steeled as the face of her fiancée stuck in the back of her mind. The man who rescued her from so many things, including herself, whose broad grin and sarcasm had kept hopes up in the darkest of times, who beat the odds to even find Fairy Tail, who had sacrificed so much for the guild. _I refuse to die, not until I see him again._ She stood up, only to be stopped halfway by a thick chain that held her wrist to the wall. Frowning, she attempted to summon a sword to break it, only to pause, puzzled, as she couldn't grip her magic. _They must have laced magic blocking spells into the chains,_ she reasoned. Steeling herself for what she was about to do, she relaxed her hand, using the sweat that had accumulated on her palms to aide in her endeavor. Finally, with a small pop and an excruciating pain, her thumb dislocated and she pulled free of the cuff, catching it in her palm before it could crash to the ground. Biting her lip to stifle her scream of pain, she sat down and looked at her hand. The skin on her thumb was rubbed a raw, angry red, and her thumb hung awkwardly, but she could fix that, and other than that, she was bruised and battered, but alive and able to fight. Breathing in deeply, she jerked and groaned quietly as she popped her thumb back into place. Focusing, she felt her magic returning and requipped into her Heaven's Wheel armor and slashed through the bars on her door.

* * *

Levy awoke with a jolt after hearing a loud crash from down the hallway. Looking around sleepily, she took in her unfamiliar surroundings. _How did I get here?_ She wondered, then gasped as the memories returned. The cave, Gajeel leaving, the two assassins, getting knocked out, waking up and blearily seeing an expansive desert. She flinched as more crashes sounded from down the hallway, and a man in what looked like a guard's uniform flew past her cell, slamming into the wall with enough force to leave an indentation. More crashes, accompanied with random yells of, "Call for reinforcements!" and "HELP!" reached Levy's ears. Making to run to her cell's bars, she jerked back as something around her wrist caught her. Glancing down, she saw a thick cuff around her wrist, connected to a chain that was anchored in the wall. Tugging uselessly at it, she leaned as far out as she could, then jumped back as another guard slammed into her cell, jarring the door loose. Seconds later, a familiar figure strode into view, clad in armor and carrying twin swords. "Erza!" she yelled, jerking at the chain that bound her. The figure glanced up, recognition coloring her face as she ran to the cell. "Levy!" Erza said, relief evident in her tone. "Do you know where the others are?" "No," Levy replied, worried, "I thought they might be with you." Levy glanced around, trying to see the other women, but Erza shook her head. "I haven't been able to find them. C'mon, let's get you out of here. Stand back." Levy retreated to the wall, and Erza planted her foot and kicked the already weak cell door, loosening it further and making it groan. She kicked it again, and it flew off the hinges, hitting the rear wall. Stepping inside, Erza pulled a set of keys out of her pocket. "Swiped these off of a guard," she said, a small smile playing around her lips. Seconds later, Levy was rubbing her wrist as the cuff fell away. "Thanks a million, Erza." She said gratefully. "Anytime," the redhead responded. "Now, let's go find the others."

"Please, help!" Levy looked up from their search. So far, they hadn't been able to find the others after fifteen minutes of wandering through the prison. Taking off, Levy ran towards where the call had come from, and found a girl struggling to break free from her chain. "Erza!" She called, looking over her shoulder. "We've got someone over here!" Erza ran into view, slowing to a walk as she came into view of the cell. "Stand back she advised the girl as she summoned her swords again. Emerald green eyes widened in understanding, and the girl stood back against the wall. Slowly inhaling, Erza let out a yell as she took one step forward and sliced through the door, letting it fall to the ground in two pieces. Pulling the keys out, she unlocked the cuffs of the stranger, who nodded gratefully. "Thanks, I owe you a million." "What's your name?" Levy asked. "The name's Maka Albarn. Its nice to meet kind people in a place like this!" She smiled up at the two. "I'm Levy McGarden. And the armor junkie over there is Erza Scarlet." Levy smiled back at Maka's laugh. "Can you use magic?" "Yeah, actually I can. It's called Soul Pulse magic. I can use soul wavelengths to either boost allies or attack. It's kinda useful." They got up. "Let's find our companions, then we'll work on getting out of here. It may be brief, but for now, Maka, welcome to Fairy Tail."

* * *

" **Fire Dragon's Roar!** " A massive burst of fire burned across the dune, causing the group of fifty dark wizards to dodge for cover. "This is really starting to get annoying!" Natsu growled, turning with katana in hand. "Tell me about it!" Gajeel returned, revving up his Iron Dragon Sword. Together, they dashed towards a group of ten enemy wizards and cut them down, showing no mercy. It wasn't too long after that the battle was over. Glancing over, Natsu saw Erin and Laxus walking over a dune towards them, dragging a limp body that turned out to be the commander of the force that had just attacked them. They had been following Natsu's nose to find the Alliance's headquarters, but with the desert's constantly shifting winds and sands, they had been unable to find a clear scent trail, and were trying to pick one up when the group of wizards had found them. Meeting up, they continued to walk until they found a small cave that offered a small amount of relief from the midday heat. They set up the soldier against a rock, and Erin knelt down in front of him, a feral smile on his face, and slapped him across the face so hard, he jolted awake. "Wakey, wakey!" Erin said in a singsong voice. The soldier looked up, fear evident in his expression. "Wh-wh-where am I?" he stuttered. "A small cave in the western desert. Now, are you going to answer our questions, or do we have to add you to the body count for today?" Laxus answered, menace in every syllable. The soldier looked upwards at the four men, seemingly weighing his options, before saying, "Sure. What do you want to know?" "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold up," Natsu said, confusion evident. "No crap about, 'I'm not telling you Fairy scum anything.' No, 'you don't intimidate me'? Just answers?" "Sure," the soldier replied. "Okay, where is your headquarters?" Gajeel tried. "About fourteen miles to the southwest, across Sunshine Ridge." The soldier answered. "Do you know where the prisoners are held?" Laxus asked, leaning forward. "On the lowest level of the East Tower, next to the guards' quarters." "Why are you helping us?" Erin asked, suspicion in his voice. "Because I'm not really with them. I've been looking for a way to get out, and then you Fairy Tail guys showed up out of the blue. Thanks, by the way." The man responded, flashing a pointy-toothed smile towards them. "If you're in such a giving mood, how about helping us get inside?" Erin queried. "I just said I was trying to get out, and you want _me_ , a deserter to help you break in?" the man asked incredulously. "Basically. If you refuse, we'll send you on your way to the nearest town, no questions asked. But we need to get in there. I understand if-" "I'm in." the man said, cutting off Natsu. "There's someone in there that the Alliance was using to keep me in line, and I'm going to get her out. Quickest way to do that is to help you guys, so…" "Alright!" Natsu exclaimed. "What's your name, stranger?" "The name's Soul Evans." The stranger said, adjusting the headband that held back his mess of white hair. "Nice to meet you, Soul." Natsu said extending a hand and helping Soul to his feet. "What kind of magic do you use?" "Requip." Soul stated bluntly, summoning a blood red scythe to show them. The group nodded, then took off towards the base. _We're coming, everyone. Hang on._

* * *

 **I know you guys hate cliffhangers, but it was this or shorten the story even more, and I don't want to do that. I plan on introducing another character next chapter, so hope you guys are looking forward to that! Follow and review if you guys enjoyed, and I'll see you later! Storm Out!**


	10. Death Rears it's Head

**Hey yo! Here's chapter ten of Extinction, and I hope you guys enjoyed last chapter! Hopefully I'll have this story done by next weekend, and I'll focus a lot more on WWIT, so yay! Anyways, guys, hope you enjoy the chapter!**

 _*thoughts*_ ***Spells***

 **I don't own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does, but I own my characters and my story!**

* * *

" **Soul Pulse: Search!** " Maka's eyes closed as her magic spread out from her body, the blue light seeping into the stone and seeking out the remaining Fairy Tail wizards. They had been looking for fifteen minutes and hadn't found anything, so Maka had decided to use her magic to find them. Suddenly, her eyes popped open as she felt three souls, weak as if in slumber. "They're on the north end, furthest on the left," Maka said, ending the spell. Erza nodded, and ran off towards where her friends were located. Levy offered her a hand, which she took gratefully. "Thanks, that spell always takes a lot out of me, depending on how long I have to use it." Levy laughed as they ran towards Erza. "I understand. Can you still fight, if we need to?" "Yeah," Maka responded, "that shouldn't be a problem." "Good." They slowed down as they caught up to Erza, who was standing in the center of the hallway, frozen in shock. "Erza, what is it? Did you fin-" Levy yelped as Erza dragged them around a corner. "Quiet, you two! If we are discovered, we're done for!" Levy's eyes widened at the look of fear that was on Erza's face. "Erza, who-" Erza silenced her with a finger as an all-too-familiar voice rang out through the hallway. "I'll be back later for you Fairy Tail scum, but I must check up on a few things. I do hope we can have another chat later." Levy paled, a look of horror etched on her features. That voice brought back painful memories. She peeked around the corner, just in time to see a purple cloak vanish down the corridor. "Jose Porla." She said, terror in every syllable that passed her lips. "My god, the guild is doomed."

* * *

Erin lay atop the small outcropping of rocks, a pair of binoculars in hand. Peering through them, he watched as people paced along the top of a wall belonging to the large castle that was base of operations for the Nocturnal Alliance. Sighing, he slid back down the rocks to where the others were waiting. "Sneaking in is no good." He told them. "The place is absolutely swarming with guards, and they switch off on a one to one basis. It's literally impossible to sneak in, unless we had an invisibility spell." "So," Natsu said, a dark smile on his face, "that leaves option two." "We fight our way in." Laxus finished for him, pounding his fist into his palm. "Sounds like a plan to me." Gajeel snarled. "Let's get to it." They stood up, then looked over at the fifth member of their group. Soul stood, a menacing look on his face. "Follow me."

* * *

Erza panted as she dashed through the tower. _We have to get out of here_. She thought. _Before that monster finds us. We HAVE to warn the guild._ "Erza, what's wrong?" Maka asked, striding right next to her with an unconscious Evergreen on her back. "Why were you so terrified by that man?" Erza flinched. "That man," she explained with a barely repressed shudder, "once tried to destroy Fairy Tail for power. He wiped out our guild hall and almost killed me, Gray, and Elfman because we were in his way. He is evil, pure and simple." She noticed a door at the end of the corridor, and made to dash towards it. "That's quite an unflattering opinion you have of me, Titania Erza Scarlet." Erza froze as that vile voice reached her ears again. A sense of dread crept over her as she turned around. "Maka, take Levy, Evergreen and Cana and get out of here. I'll hold him off for as long as possible." "Understood." Maka said, gathering up the others and racing through the door. "Well, Titania, looks like it's just you and me." The shadow said, taking a step forward. "I guess I'll finish what I started."

* * *

"Everybody clear on the plan?" Laxus asked, turning towards the group. Nods and determined looks answered him. "Okay, let's go." They dashed off towards the wall, running as fast as they could to try and evade the blasts of magic that struck just inches behind them. Erin leaped into the air, gathering his magic energy into his hands. " **Hurricane Volley**!" He yelled, blowing a hole in the middle of the wall. "Oh, yeah, Fairy Tail, let's go!" Natsu yelled, leaping into the middle of a group of wizards, cutting them down with his katana. "Damn straight! **Karma Demon: Iron Spiral**!" Gajeel yelled, using his attack to slam through ten opponents with ease. The two dragon slayers went back to back as a huge number of dark guild members gathered around them. "You ready, trash can?" Natsu said, a feral grin on his face. "Let's do this, smoky." Gajeel responded. " **Iron Dragon Scales**!" Gajeel's body became covered as he rushed towards a large group of the dark guild, slamming through them with ease. "C'mon weaklings!" He shouted. "Don't know how to fight without your magic?" The enemies shrank back from Gajeel's wrath, as he was surrounded in a silver aura that grew with each passing second. "Bring it on!"

* * *

Erza panted as she drew back. "You're stronger then the last time we fought, Titania." Jose remarked, no evidence of strain in his voice. "But it won't help you. I have specific plans for you, my dear, and none of them involve beating me. **Dead Wave**!" A shroud of black energy raced towards her, barely missing her as she flipped out of the way. She screamed as a hand caught her wrist. "Now, let's see how your guild reacts to this. **Dead Art: Soul Possession**!" Erza screamed as a foreign presence entered her mind, controlling her movements as she fell to her knees. "Now," Jose said, a devilish grin on his face, "your guild will fall by your hands, Titania. How does that make you feel?"

* * *

"Damn, there's no end to these guys!" Laxus yelled, throwing a punch into the jaw of an attacking Alliance member. " **Raging Bolt**!" He exclaimed, loosing the attack and frying several enemies. "I hear ya." Soul said, panting as he requipped. "Demon Flame Armor!" He rushed towards a group of wizards, his body covered in dark red steel. His head was mostly uncovered, with only his signature headband adorning his brow. He planted his feet, swinging a black and red sword in a deadly arc, cutting down the group. "Keep going! We have to keep fighting!" Erin yelled. " **Tornado Blast**!" A massive tornado took out twenty or so dark guild members. Erin whipped around, expecting an attack, but none came. Standing straight, he let out a sigh. "Everybody alright?" He asked, glancing towards the others. "Bruises, but we're alright." Gajeel said as Natsu nodded, catching his breath. "I'm fine." Soul said from over by the main building. "Same here." Laxus stated. Suddenly, Gajeel lurched forward with a cry of pain. "Hey, what…" Erin froze as his brain desperately tried to deny what his eyes saw. What his eyes saw was the love of his life crouched, weapon in hand after slicing through Gajeel's leg. "Erza, what are you doing?" he asked, stepping towards her, then swiftly ducking as she rushed him with a slash at neck height. "I'm sorry, Erin." She said, tears running down her face. "But I am not in control. _He_ is." She continued to press the attack, forcing Erin back towards the gap in the wall. "He who?" Erin questioned. "Erza, what the fuck is going on? Why did you attack Gajeel?" A voice rang out over the compound, answering his question. "What's going on, boy, is that I have taken control over Titania's body. If you find me, you can break the spell and so win back Titania. But, you will have to get past Titania to get to me! Good luck, Fairy scum!" Erin's eyes widened at what he heard. _Why?! Why is HE here?_ Steeling his resolve, he turned to the others. "Get going! I'll occupy Erza, just find and beat that bastard to a pulp before anything happens!" "No, Erin!" Natsu yelled, rushing towards the pair, but it was too late. " **Hurricane's Inner Wall**!" Natsu jerked back as a wall of wind separated the two from the others. Natsu slammed his fist into the ground. "Dammit, Erin, you know what will happen if anything happens to her by your hand! Why the fuck did you do it?" "Because I had to. You guys get going. Give Jose my regards." Natsu stood, his bangs hiding his eyes and darkening his face. "Don't you die, Erin. I don't want to deal with Erza if you do." A laugh resounded from the other side of the barrier. "Same to you, now get going." Erin turned to his fiancée. "I'm sorry, Erza." He said, regret in his voice. "Now, let's do this."

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 **Yeah, yeah, I'm evil. This one took FOREVER to write. Please review, and I'll try to have the next chapter up either tomorrow or Tuesday. Storm Out!**


	11. Titania vs Cyclone

**Alright, guys! Here's chapter eleven of Extinction! I hope to have this story up and finished by this weekend, but we'll see what happens! Alright, let's get into the action! Storm Out!**

* * *

Erin took a wide stance, drawing the staff that he had strapped to his back, a four-foot long piece of pinewood carved into the likeness of a dragon. Laying it across his shoulders, he crouched, facing Erza. "So you really intend to sacrifice yourself to occupy Erza?" Jose's voice sounded again, excitement barely contained. "Oh, this will be so enjoyable. I'm going to make her watch as she kills you slowly, painfully, and laugh at her anguish of knowing that she caused the light to leave your eyes!" "Shut up, you old windbag." Erin snarled, his entire being focused on the redhead in front of him. He waited while a glowing light enveloped her, fading to reveal her Purgatory Armor. "Nice choice." Erin remarked, hoping to throw off Jose with his sarcasm. "Going all out from the beginning? Are you that scared of me?" "Get him, puppet!" Jose's voice screamed, and Erza rushed at him, swinging her mace directly at his chest. Sidestepping to the left, Erin allowed Erza to rush past him, whacking her across the back with the tail end of his staff. "Dude," he said, once again directed at Jose, "if this is going to be that boring, I wouldn't have bothered wasting magic energy on the wall." He emphasized his statement with a fake yawn. Erza turned and rushed in again, this time swinging her mace horizontally at his waist. Stepping back, he planted a hand on the mace and vaulted over it, landing behind Erza and sweeping the head of his staff at her feet. Jumping, Erza swung with all her might down towards where his head was, but he wasn't there. Dodging right this time, he jabbed the head into her stomach, forcing all the air out of her body, then danced backwards as she requipped into her Fairy's Legend armor. "Alright," Erin said, fire in his eyes, "NOW we're getting serious."

* * *

"Can't they ever just give up?" Natsu complained, slashing through yet another group of enemy wizards with his katana. They had entered the main compound and were following Soul's directions towards the prison cells. Around every corner they had encountered resistance from the Alliance, and it was seriously beginning to tick Natsu off. "OH COME ON!" He screamed as they rounded the corner and faced yet another group of soldiers. These were different, though. They seemed to be…fleeing from something. The answer turned the corner at the far end of the corner while the guards tried to decide what to do. A tall girl with blonde pigtails ran around the corner, followed by Cana, Levy, Evergreen, and Mira. "Finally!" Gajeel exclaimed, relieved. "How's everyone doing?" "Battered, but alive." Mira responded. "Now, let's take out the trash!"

* * *

Erin panted as he parried a jab from Erza's blade staff. They had been fighting for around ten minutes, and it was starting to show on Erin's part. _Damn,_ he thought, as he swung his staff to block a slash at neck height from Erza. _I should have finished the fight early, but I couldn't. I can't hurt Erza like that!_ He cried out as Erza's follow through swing caught him in the leg. Hopping backwards to avoid a stab, he took stock of his wound. It was long and shallow, and it hurt like a bitch, preventing him from putting as much weight as he wanted to on that leg. _Damn, there goes the "delay and deny" plan. Gonna have to face her straight up, and I won't last long like that. Come on, guys! Hurry it up, or I'm toast!_

* * *

"So, who's this?" Gajeel asked Levy, indicating the blonde girl currently locked in an embrace with Soul. "Oh, that's Maka." Levy answered." She was a prisoner we found, and she's a wizard! Who's the guy she's with?" "His name's Soul." Gajeel responded, a mischievous glint in his eye. "He's a lieutenant in the Alliance." Levy jerked back and looked at him, shock and fear evident. "Relax, shrimp," Gajeel said, laughing, "He's with us. He's the reason we found you guys." Levy sighed, relaxing, then smacked Gajeel on the arm. "Don't you scare me like that again!" "Understood, shrimp." Gajeel said, turning to the group. "Is everyone ready for a fight? We're going to find Jose and end this once and for all." Everyone nodded, grim looks of determination on their faces. "Where's Erin?" Mira asked from her position by Laxus' side. The guys bowed their heads. "Erin stayed outside to hold off Erza and buy us some time." Natsu said, fury in his voice. "He put up a Hurricane Wall and now he and Erza are fighting." "WHAT?!" Levy exclaimed, shock and worry in her tone. "Jose Porla found Erza, and now she's under some form of mind control." Laxus explained, head bowed. "She can still speak and think like herself, but her body is under Jose's control." "We have to find Jose and break that spell, before we lose Cyclone." Gajeel said. "Wait, is this Cyclone guy strong?" Maka queried, confusion in her voice. The group nodded. "Then he should be able to hold his own rather comfortably. I mean, Erza's a strong wizard, but if he's as strong as you guys are making it sound, then he should be fine." "You don't understand." Natsu stated bluntly. "Erin and Erza have been together longer than anyone. Their feelings are true, and deep as they go. Erin won't be able to harm Erza, but Jose doesn't give a shit about things like love and feelings. He'll _laugh_ if Erza strikes down Erin. It would be like a sick joke to him." The group bowed their heads. "So, let's go find him, and put an end to this, once and for all!" With that, Natsu dashed off, the others close behind him.

* * *

 _Damn._ Erin panted as he parried a slash at his ribcage. _If this keeps up any longer, I'm history._ Blinking away blood from a cut above his eye, he leaped over a swipe at his midsection, landing catlike and parrying the following downward slash. _I'm going to have to go on the offensive if I want to hold out,_ he thought as he backpedaled, _but I can't! This is Erza! I won't hurt her!_ Suddenly, his world flipped upside down as he tripped over the fallen body of an Alliance member. Unable to keep his balance, he fell to the ground, crying out in pain as his shoulder dislocated from falling against his staff. Looking up, he saw Erza, tears in her eyes as she held the sword over her head. "Don't do this!" she whimpered, sobbing. "Please, I beg you, don't make me do this." "Ah," Jose's voice said, malice in his tone, "true love. How easy it is to wipe out." With that, Erza's blade began it's deadly descent. Erin closed his eyes. _This is going to hurt._

* * *

 **And that's why they call him Cliff Hanger! Yeah, just gonna bask in the evil glow for a little. Chapter twelve should be up sometime Wednesday! Storm Out!**


	12. Calm Before the Storm

**Alright, guys, here's chapter twelve of Extinction! Hope you guys enjoyed the little cliff hanger there at the end of last chapter, and hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Storm Out!**

* * *

" _Don't do this!" she whimpered, sobbing. "Please, I beg you, don't make me do this." "Ah," Jose's voice said, malice in his tone, "true love. How easy it is to wipe out." With that, Erza's blade began its deadly descent. Erin closed his eyes._ This is going to hurt _._

" **Tornado Blast!"** Erin winced as the spell sent him flying across the ground, and cried out as his injured shoulder slammed into the wall of wind that he had created. _Whew_ , he thought, struggling to his feet and grabbing his staff. _That was a close one._ "Damn you, Cyclone." Jose's voice called, disappointment and anger coloring his tone. "Why won't you die?!" "Because," Erin responded, popping his shoulder back into place, "I've got people to live for. I ain't going down that easy." "All the better." Jose said. "More pain for your lover!" Erza rushed him, slashing at neck height, and Erin ducked, sweeping his leg out. Erza jumped, then spun into a slash at Erin's head, but was met with a dull _thunk_ as her blade staff was parried by Erin, who stepped inside the strike and elbowed Erza in the ribs, knocking the air out of her. Following quickly, Erin spun his staff around, parrying Erza's stab and catching her in the head, effectively knocking her unconscious and breaking the spell. Panting, Erin looked down at Erza's fallen body as she exquipped into her usual attire of blue skirt, white blouse, and armor breastplate. "I'm sorry, Red." He sighed, before his eyes rolled upward into his head and he collapsed across her body.

* * *

"Dammit! Where is he?!" Natsu screamed as they ran into the tenth group of Alliance wizards. Natsu wasted no time in cutting them down. He was beginning to get annoyed with all of the obstacles in their way. Growling, he dashed down the corridor, stopping at the end where it forked. "DAMN YOU, JOSE!" He shouted, furious. "Show yourself already and quit hiding!" "We need to take the left one." Soul stated, his arm entwined with Maka's. "That's the quickest way to Jose's quarters." "Alright," Laxus said, determination etched onto his face. "Let's go."

* * *

Erza gasped as she struggled back to consciousness. Coughing, she went to stand, but her body had other ideas. Wincing at the titanic headache that she had, she instead sat up, gazing around her. Dread filled her heart as she remembered what had happened. Her fight with Jose, the horrific feeling as he took over her body, and the fight with..."ERIN!" She yelled, struggling to stand. "Erin, where are you?!" In the back of her mind, she notice his Hurricane Wall was gone, meaning he had either run out of magic energy, or…she refused to even think about it. "Erin!" she cried as she stumbled across the courtyard, desperate to find him. Suddenly, a groan from behind her drew her attention. Spinning, she caught sight of a staff lying on the ground a few yards away. Hobbling over to it, she picked it up, turning it over. _There's no doubt,_ she thought, _this is Erin's, but if this is here, where-_ "Oi, Red," a voice from beneath her said, "If you're done gawking at my stick, could you help me out?" Looking down, she almost sobbed in relief as she beheld Erin's smiling face near her feet. Falling to her knees, she helped Erin sit up, then threw her arms around him, overjoyed that he was alive. "Erin, I'm so sorry!" Erza sobbed. "There wasn't anything I could-" "What are you apologizing for, Erza?" Erin asked, cutting her off. "You didn't have any control over it. If anything, I should be apologizing to you." His head bowed and tears welled up in his eyes. "I broke my promise again. I wasn't there to protect you, and look where we ended up. Knee deep in trouble with just a spoon to dig ourselves out." Erza laughed in spite of herself. "You don't have to apologize. It's not your fault that the Alliance are a bunch of cowards who can't attack straight up." "But-" Erin began, but Erza cut him off by gluing her lips to his. Her hands grabbed at his short hair, and she kissed him with all the passion in her body. Erin recoiled, shocked, but then brought his hands up, one going around her neck, the other knotted in her scarlet hair. The kiss only lasted a few seconds, but by the tie they broke away, both were short of breath. "I'm glad…you're okay." Erin panted, wrapping her in a hug. "Me too." Erza replied, burying her head into his shoulder. They stayed like that for a minute, then broke apart. "Now, let's go find the others, and kick that bastard's ass."

* * *

Gajeel panted as they sprinted towards Jose's quarters. Trepidation filled him as he glanced down at Levy. His former boss wasn't exactly the nicest of people, and his orders had been what caused Gajeel to attack Fairy Tail in the first place. How would he react when he saw that his star wizard had switched teams? More importantly, what would he do to Levy? Gajeel knew how Jose worked. He always went straight for the blow that hurt the most. As Gajeel looked around, he began to feel fear claw at his belly. Levy, Mira, and Maka were all powerful wizards, yes, but they were also liabilities. How far would Jose go in exploiting them? He shook his head to clear his mind as they approached a massive oaken door, an engraving of Jose killing massive amounts of fairies adorning it. "Full of himself, ain't he?" Soul joked, glancing at the carving. Gajeel laughed. "You have no idea, kid." He responded, eyes closed. "Well?" Natsu asked, fury in his tone. "What are we waiting for? Let's end this!" As he said that, Laxus shoved the doors open, and they hit the walls with a thunderous _boom._ A sinister, oily cackle resounded through the pitch black chamber. "Well, well, well, Fairy Tail. I've been expecting you." Suddenly, a line of torches illuminated the chamber, revealing Jose sitting on a black metal throne. "Come in, and welcome to the scene of your guild's demise."

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 **C'mon, did you honestly think I was going to kill off the main characters? I'm not that evil! Or am I? MWAHAHAHAHA! Oh well, hope you guys enjoyed this one! Next one will either be up late tonight ar sometime tomorrow, so be on the lookout! Storm Out!**


	13. A Shade of Your Self

**I am so sorry guys. College workload caught up, and I'm WAY late on this update, considering that it was supposed to go up Wednesday and I'm typing this at 11:00 on Friday. Apologies, and to make up for it, TWO chapters should be going up today, and because of my absence this week, I should be able to work on fics all weekend! Hope you guys enjoy them! Storm Out!**

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" _Well, well, well, Fairy Tail. I've been expecting you." Suddenly, a line of torches illuminated the chamber, revealing Jose on a black metal throne. "Come in, and welcome to the scene of your guild's demise."_

The group walked deeper into the chamber, Natsu and Laxus leading the way, menace plain in their gait. "My, my, my. Still so hostile towards me, aren't you, Fairy Tail?" Jose asked, a hint of laughter in his voice. "And what part of this do you find funny?" Gajeel responded, glaring at his former master. "Ah, Gajeel." Jose sighed, placing his palm across his forehead. "I had hoped that you would not join this infernal guild. You were one of my favorite weapons. But, as always, iron rusts, and must be disposed of." With that statement, Jose stood from his throne, casting his cloak to the floor. "I suppose you are here to kill me and to get revenge for the wrongs I have committed against your guild." Jose growled, exuding an evil presence. "I will allow it, but at a cost. You see," Jose smirked wickedly, "I have two friends of yours, in a rather precarious situation." With that, a projection popped up in front of them, showing Erza standing over Erin, sword raised as if to smite him in the heart. "Titania's body is under my complete control. One wrong move by you, and I will have Titania kill Cyclone, and then herself." He cackled at the murderous glares on the faces of the Fairy Tail wizards. "You're despicable." Soul snarled, glaring up at his former commander. "Ah, but you already knew this, didn't you, Lieutenant Evans? How long were you a member of the Alliance?" The group turned to him, apprehension dawning on their faces. Soul's face darkened as he tilted his head down. "Two years." He said, shame on his face. "We all know that there is a reason behind that!" Maka yelled, moving to stand beside the white-haired requip wizard. "You held me captive for those two years and forced Soul to stay obedient!" "Does your evil know no bounds, Jose?" Laxus asked, striding forward, but he barely made it a step before Jose began cackling. "No, it does not, _fairy._ " Jose sneered. "And if you don't step back, you will see just how evil I can be." The projection of Erza and Erin shimmered back to life in front of them. "Surrender now, and I may yet spare their lives." "NEVER!" Natsu yelled, fury in his voice. "WE WOULD NEVER SURRENDER TO YOU!" "Your loss." Jose sneered, then waved his hand. Through the projection, they heard Erza sob. "Don't do this! Please, I beg you, don't make me do this!" But it was too late, as Erza's blade began its descent. Suddenly, the projection cut out. "My apologies for not broadcasting the final scene, but the projection was tied to Cyclone's life force." The group stood there, horrified, refusing to accept what they had just seen. "Now, you came for revenge, yes? Let us get started!"

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"Damn, this place is like a labyrinth." Erin breathed, limping through the corridors of Jose's compound. "That is true." Erza responded. "We could very easily get lost down here." "Got that right." Erin agreed, looking around at their surroundings. "Erin?" Erza called, worry in her tone. "Yeah, Red?" HE responded, looking up at her. "Do you think the others are okay?" "I'm sure they'll be fine, Erza." Erin replied, a small smile on his face. "We've just gotta have faith in them, is all." "All the same," Erza said, "I think we should hurry and try to find them." "Yeah," Erin replied, "we definitely should."

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"Damn you!" Laxus roared, furious. " **Raging Bolt!** " A massive bolt of lightning raced towards the dais that Jose stood on, but he vanished just before the attack struck. "Everyone, stay alert!" Mira yelled, pressing her back against Laxus'. "He could come from anywhere!" The group nodded, gathering together. They heard a disembodied sneer. "Think you have strength in numbers? Think again! **Dead Mimic!** " "That doesn't sound good." Natsu stated, before leaping back to dodge a flaming fist. "Hey, what's the big idea?" His eyes widened as something stepped out from the shadows. It looked like… _him_. Except he didn't have inky purple skin, and his eyes had pupils. "What is this?!" He heard Gajeel exclaim. Risking a look around, he saw that everyone was facing a shadow clone of themselves. _This is bad!_ Natsu thought. _It seems as though these guys can use our magic. Combine that with the freaky mirror act, and that's a five-star recipe for a nightmare!_ "Great," Laxus said, "it's our own personal fan club." "Watch yourselves!" Cana shouted, drawing a set of three cards. "This one's going to get ugly!"

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Erin and Erza dashed through corridor after corridor, trying to find a clue as to where he others were. Suddenly, they stopped at a fork in the path. "Dammit, which way do we go?" Erin cursed, furious. "There's no signs down here, nor is there a map." Erza scowled. They needed to catch up to the others, and help them, but they couldn't do that if they kept running around in circles in this godforsaken maze. "I say we take the right path, since-" "DAMN YOU!" Erin paused as a shout reached their ears, followed by the sound of a massive explosion. "Never mind." Erin said, grinning. "Looks like we found them. Now, let's go!"

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"God damn it! Why won't these bastards just fall already?!" Natsu yelled, panting as he ducked a punch from his shade counterpart. "Because, you fool, they are set to go after you until you fall." Jose stated, smirking. "Unless you have outside help, and you don't have a lot of that, they will merely waste your magic energy." "Coward!" Mirajane yelled, ducking a strike from her counterpart. "Get out here and fight us like a man!" "I have no need to." Jose responded. "I wish to see if you can deal with mere shades, before I use my strength." Suddenly, the shade attacking Laxus burst into a cloud of grey smoke. "Sorry, guys!" A familiar voice yelled from the cloud. "But do we get the opportunity to gate-crash this party?!"

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 **And again, I had WAY more work today then I thought I would, so this chapter is going up a lot later then I wanted. I promise, though, that I will have another one up late tonight/early tomorrow morning, and then it's just one more to go! Leave a review, follow, or favorite if you enjoyed, and I'll see ya later! Storm Out!**


	14. Futures at Stake

**Alright, guys, here's Chapter fourteen of Extinction, and I hope you guys have enjoyed this fanfic, because it's almost over! We've got this chapter, the next one, and then possibly an epilogue, so hang on! Hope you guys enjoy, follow, favorite, and review, all that jazz, LET'S SEE SOME ACTION! STORM OUT!**

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The group stared at the cloud as it swirled in the center, obscuring the owner of the voice. Suddenly, a flash of red darted through the room, reducing two more shades to smoke. "E-ERZA?!" Natsu asked, dumbfounded. "Of course." Erza replied, crouching. "Who else would it be?" "But-but-but we saw you! Jose had a projection, and you killed…you killed Erin!" "That is a lie!" The voice shouted indignantly. "I'm right here, ready to kick some ass. "With that, Erin leaped from the cloud of smoke in the center to stand beside Erza, staff in hand and a cocky grin plastered on his face. "Shall we?" He asked, glancing around at the shades. "Looks as though we must." Erza responded, requipping into her Black Wing armor. "Then let's go!" Erin shouted, dashing towards Natsu, who ducked as Erin swung his staff at the shade behind him, who was launched into the wall and disintegrated into grey smoke. Meanwhile, Erza flew at a group of three shades which had cornered Evergreen, Levy, and Mira, and slashed through them in an instant. "Thanks." Levy said, breathing a sigh of relief. "Any time." Erza responded, offering her hand to help Evergreen up. "Now, let's take the rest of these out and deal with Jose." "Understood," Mira said, transforming into her Satan's Soul. With that they leaped back into the fray. Natsu and Erin stood side by side, eradicating any shades that dared come close. Laxus and Mira teamed up, eliminating shades left and right. Gajeel roared as he took out any shades in his path as he waded through the fight to Levy. Soul stood in front of Maka, daring the shades to get within range of his scythe, as Maka sat cross-legged on the ground, eyes closed and hands glowing blue as she searched for Jose. Finally, all the shades were eliminated, and the group gathered in the center in a circle, facing out towards the room.

Suddenly, a cackle came from above them. "Foolish Fairies!" Looking up, they dove out of the way as Jose came crashing into the center of the room where they were standing. As he knelt in the center, Gajeel turned to Levy. "Get Maka, Cana, and Evergreen out of here. Don't look back, head straight for the nearest town and hide. We'll come and get you when we're done, okay?" "But-" Levy tried to argue, but Gajeel had already turned his focus towards Jose. "I'll go with them." Soul stated as he backed towards the door. Gajeel nodded. "Get going." Natsu warned. "It's about to get ugly." Soul nodded, before gathering the others and dashing out of the room.

Jose watched them go. "Trying to save the rest of your pathetic guild? That's fine with me. I'll just hunt them down once I'm finished here!" With that, he ran at Natsu, who stepped back, drawing his katana, slashing at where Jose would appear, but he vanished, reappearing behind him and roundhouse kicking him into the wall. Mira dashed at him, clawing at him, but Jose nimbly dodged the attack and elbowed her in the ribs, knocking the air out of her lungs and sending her slamming into the ceiling. Erin dashed in, swinging his staff at Jose's legs, but Jose jumped and delivered a powerful kick to Erin's stomach, sending him flying back into the throne. The rest of the group circled Jose warily, looking for a gap to exploit as he stood and laughed. "You fairy scum are no better than the last time we faced off." Jose growled. "Without Makarov, you're pathetic, and you have no chance of beating me." "We'll see about that!" Laxus snarled. " **Lightning Dragon Roar**!" Laxus sent an attack at Jose, who disappeared. Suddenly, Gajeel yelled as he was sent flying. Rotating, he kicked off the wall and rocketed towards Jose, who turned and sidestepped the blow.

"Damn!" Natsu shouted, picking himself out of the hole in the wall. "This bastard's tough!" "No shit, Salamander." Gajeel growled, rolling his eyes. "We're going to have to work together to bring him down." Erza commanded, requipping to her Purgatory armor. Jose smirked. "In that case, I'll just have to kill every single one of you!" Disappearing again, he materialized behind Erza. "Let's start with your new guild leader, shall we?" Before he could land an attack, however, a wooden dragon's head smashed into his stomach, knocking him back towards the wall. Erin stood beside Erza, murderous intent in every inch of his posture. "Next time," he growled, settling into a crouch, "It'll be more than you stomach that gets hit." Jose stood, all evidence of a smile gone from his face. "For that, boy," he snarled, "you will die first." Disappearing again, he appeared behind Erin, only to be met with a flaming fist. Natsu stood, igniting his body. "Stick together," he ordered, cracking his knuckles. "If we stay together, we can react to him and prevent-" he stopped as blood spurted from his mouth. Looking down, he saw a blade of purple magic sticking through his chest. "Stop rambling and pay attention to your surroundings, boy." Jose snarled, retracting his magic. "It'll keep that from happening." "Bastard!" Erin yelled, turning towards Jose, but he was gone. Reappearing behind Mira, he went to grab her with his magic, but was stopped by an electrically charged fist. "That is the final straw, monster." Laxus snarled, fury darkening his eyes. "You have five seconds to pray to whatever depraved god you worship, before we end your miserable life." Jose leaped backwards, taking up a fighting stance. "There's no way I will lose to you Fairies ever again!" He growled. " **Dead Wave**!" The group scattered as a mass of purple magic rushed towards them. Natsu winced as the wound in his chest burned. "Damn it, guys, I'm gonna have to get help quick, or its curtains for me!" He cried, holding his chest. _Damn,_ Erin thought, _we've got to end this soon, or Natsu will die!_ " **Dead Wave**!" " **Hurricane Volley**!" Erin countered the spell, causing a massive explosion to fill the room. Thought the debris, he saw Mira scoop up Natsu and fly out of there. "Alright, let's get to it." Laxus said, pounding his fist into his palm. "I reckon you're right." Gajeel responded. "Time to get serious! **Iron Shadow Dragon Mode**!" Gajeel powered up, his body becoming covered in iron and his eyes glowing purple from the shadows. "If you insist." Erza said, as Jose looked on, dumbfounded. " **Requip: Fairy's Legend Armor**!" "Alright, fine." Erin replied, standing. "Guess I'll keep the thunder going. **Storm Magic: Typhoon**!" Black markings ran up his arms, meeting across his chest. A pair of black, leathery wings sprouted from his back, and his eyes glowed an inhuman gold. "Well, Jose?" Laxus said, turning to glare at the man who stood in the middle of the throne room, shocked. "Shall we continue?" "I'm game!" Erin growled, leaping into the air. " **Hurricane Volley**!" He let loose a massive blast of electrical energy, which Jose just barely managed to dodge. Suddenly, Gajeel materialized from the shadows, directly in front of Jose. " **Iron Shadow Dragon's Roar**!" He loosed the attack, catching Jose directly in the chest. Jose was sent flying, impacting the ceiling hard enough to leave a crater. Laxus leaped through the aftermath of the attack, catching Jose with a fist in the back and sending him crashing into the floor, where Erza waited, blade staff in hand. Jose vanished as she stabbed at his chest, reappearing across the room. The Fairy Tail wizards regrouped in the center of the room, awaiting the next onslaught. They were surprised, however, when Jose began to laugh maniacally. "So, you've grown that strong. Excellent! Your bonds have proven to be your power. But, even if I lose my life, you will not win!" Vanishing, he materialized right in the center of the room. " **Secret Art of the Dead: Cleansing Darkness**!" Gathering a huge amount of magic power, Jose's body exploded, scattering the Fairy Tail wizards and bringing the building down on top of all of them.

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 **And so ends Jose Porla. But what happened to the heroes? And did the second group escape the blast? Find out whenever I upload next on: Extinction! Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, and the next one should be up by Monday. Storm Out!**


	15. Time of Healing

**Oh my goodness, guys. It's finally here! The final chapter of Extinction! And Holy SHIT, this one's a long one, clocking in at almost 6800 words. This has been awesomely fun to write, and I appreciated the feedback that I got on it. Seriously, if you guys were able to make it through this, you rock. Hope you guys enjoy the final chapter, there may be an epilogue or two coming out later, and see ya later! Storm Out!**

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Light filtered sluggishly through the massive dust cloud, illuminating the aftermath of a massive explosion. The one thing still remotely intact was a metal throne, black iron and beaten. Everything else was rubble and dust, settling to the ground with an ominous finality.

Suddenly, a black arm punched through the top layer, creating space for Erin Noctem to climb to the surface. Gasping for breath, he lay on his back as the black markings and wings faded from his body. "THAT…was way too close." He said to himself. Rolling over, he attempted to push himself to his knees, only to falter, coughing up blood as pain raced through his chest. "Damn." He wheezed, coughing up more blood. "That hurt like a bitch." Giving himself a minute, he tried again, groaning as the pain returned. Managing to get to his feet, he glanced around. "Hello?!" He shouted, voice echoing across the pile of rubble that used to be the Nocturnal Alliance base of operations. "Can anyone hear me?!" He stumbled across the pile, clutching his side as he picked his way around huge chunks of stone. "Anybody there?!" He yelled, hoping for a response. Dread filled him as silence greeted his ears. "I can't be the only one that survived that!" He growled to himself, falling to a knee and coughing. "Damn it. Must've cracked a rib." He said to himself, placing a hand on his chest. Wincing, he rose to his feet and continued to pick his way through the landscape. "HEY!" He shouted. Straining his ears, his eyes lit up as he heard a faint response. "Whoever you are, keep talking!" He yelled. Following the voice, he found a large pile of stone leaning against the remains of a wall. "Hang on!" He shouted, and set himself to shifting the largest chunk, a piece of the ceiling that had fallen. Straining, he shifted it far enough that he could work on the rest of the pile. Digging through, he came across a hand, and grabbed it. "Hang on, I've almost got you out!" He reassured whomever it was, and he smiled as he heard Gajeel's distinctive growl. "Hurry it up, thunderhead, I'm getting squashed under 'ere." Shifting more stone, Erin finally uncovered Gajeel's upper body and pulled him out. "Took ya long enough." Gajeel groaned as Erin bent over, coughing up more blood. "You doin' okay?" "Yeah," Erin responded, offering a weak smile. "Just cracked a few ribs, is all. How about you?" "Couple bruises, but other than that, I got lucky. That chunk o' wall saved me from the worst of it." "Good." Erin answered tiredly. "Now, let's see if anybody else is still trapped in here."

"Dammit, we can't be the only two left." Gajeel growled, punching a chunk of stone into dust. Erin nodded listlessly, stumbling against a ruined pillar. _Damn,_ he thought, _my vision's getting fuzzy. I'm about ready to collapse here._ Suddenly, Erin's world faded to black and he keeled over, landing painfully on his back. "Oi, Cyclone. Ya gotta get up. No rest for the weary 'til we find everyone." Gajeel said, glancing over. His eyes widened as he saw Erin. "Oi, Cyclone!" He rushed over to the storm wizard, kneeling at his side. "C'mon, Erin, stay with me!" He shook Erin, trying to revive him. Suddenly, his ears perked up as a familiar voice drifted over the wind. Looking around, his eyes focused on a group of people picking their way towards them. "Shrimp, grab Pigtails and hurry up! Erin's not responding!" Worry flashed through Levy's eyes as she dashed over, Soul, Evergreen, Cana, and Maka trailing behind her. "What happened?" Levy questioned, looking at Gajeel. "I dunno. First thing I know, he picked me out of the rubble, and he was coughin' up blood. He said he thought he cracked a rib, and then while we were searching over here for the rest of the group, he passed out." Maka kneeled next to him, sending out a pulse of magic. "What's she doing, Soul?" Cana asked, leaning towards the white-haired man. "She's using her Soul Pulse to examine the internal organs, because he's clearly got more than a cracked rib." Cana nodded, glancing down at her guild mate. Suddenly, Maka's eyes popped open. "What's the situation, Pigtails?" Gajeel growled, his eyes on the unconscious man. "He did have cracked ribs, but one of them fractured and punctured his lung. He passed out from lack of oxygen." Maka replied, removing her gloves. "I can temporarily fix the lung, so that he can help with the search, but we'll need to get him to a doctor as soon as we can, and he'll still be coughing up blood." Unbuttoning Erin's shirt, she placed her bare hands over his right lung. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes. " **Soul Pulse: Heal**!" A blue flash erupted from her hands, shining brightly. As it faded, Erin's chest rose and fell more regularly, and his eyes blinked open. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as he sat up, groaning. "Alright, people," Levy said, determination in her eyes. "Let's go find the rest of the group."

"Hey!" Cana yelled, then paused, listening for a response. When none came, she looked down, discouraged, then focused as she spied something in her peripheral vision. Calling for Erin, they dashed over to the item, and began to dig around it. "Come on, come on." Erin growled, shifting he stone that was underneath the white scale-patterned scarf. Slowly, they uncovered an unconscious Natsu, the wound in his chest hastily bandaged, and underneath him, a struggling Mira. "Oh, thank goodness!" Mira cheered, a smile on her face. "I was beginning to lose hope!" "I'm glad you guys are alright!" Cana sighed, relieved. "Now, let's go get you guys checked out. That wound looks like it needs to be bandaged again." She eyed the wound, then looked over at Erin as he leaned against the remains of a doorframe, hacking up blood. "Erin," she called, getting the man's attention. "Go and rest. You don't want to push yourself too hard." "With all due respect, Cana," Erin replied, a steely glint in his eye. "I'm not going to rest until I find Erza." "Alright," Cana conceded, "but if something happens before we find her…" "Nothing will happen." Erin growled, wiping his mouth. He walked away, shoulders set and tall, but at the last second his body was racked by a new coughing fit. Cana shook her head. _We need to hurry and find Erza,_ she thought, _or we'll be adding another Fairy Tail wizard to the fatality list_.

Erin hacked out another cough as he searched through the rubble that used to be the throne room. _I won't quit!_ He thought to himself. _I can't quit! Not until I find her!_ "Hey!" Erin looked up. Glancing around, he shrugged and resumed his search. "HEY!" Erin glanced up again, this time glancing around at ground level. "Keep talking." He said, hoping that whomever it was could hear him. "OVER HERE!" Placing the shout, he scrambled over the debris towards what used to be an archway. "Gajeel! I need your help over here!" he shouted, struggling to lift a massive chunk of the arch. Gajeel clambered over the rubble to reach him. Setting his shoulder against the debris, Gajeel grunted as he used his legs to push the arch up and away. Erin scrambled underneath it, searching through the pile of rubble for anything, when an arm burst out of the pile to his left. "Easy!" he shouted, jerking back with a cough. Blood splattered the arm as Laxus appeared from the pile. "Thanks," Laxus said, wiping his arm on the ground. "Are you injured?" Erin questioned, ignoring the sarcastic jab. "I've got a couple of scrapes, and my shoulder was dislocated, but other than that, no." Laxus answered, glancing with concern at Erin. "You should probably-" "I'm NOT sitting out." Erin said, cutting him off. "Erza is still missing. I'm not taking a break until we find her. So-" He cut off as another coughing fit overtook him. Wiping the blood from his mouth, he glared at Laxus. "Not one word to me about taking it easy. You and I BOTH know that Erza wouldn't stop if our positions were swapped." "Alright." Laxus replied, holding his hands up in surrender. "But don't blame me when you work yourself to death."

Levy climbed over the mountains of rubble, eyes scanning left and right as she tried to pick out any trace of the last missing guild member. It had been over an hour since she and her group had returned to the castle after a massive explosion had leveled it. Now, one of her best friends was still missing, and she was running low on hope that they would ever find her. Suddenly, something shiny caught her eye. Squinting, she managed to pick out a shining silver gauntlet. "ERIN!" She screamed, already clambering towards it. Erin glanced up, hearing his name called, and saw Levy scrambling away from them, towards where the far wall would have been. Taking off after her, he noticed a silver gauntlet sticking out of one of the debris piles, pointed towards the heavens. Dread filling his heart, he doubled his speed, catching up to Levy as she reached the gauntlet. Grasping it, he sighed in relief when the glove feebly squeezed his hand. "Hold on, Red. We'll get you out of there." Turning, he went to call for Laxus and Gajeel, but was interrupted by a massive coughing fit. He fell to his hands and knees, spitting out a globule of blood, which splattered over the debris he crouched on. Wiping his mouth, he growled. Pushing up, he drew a deep breath, only to be stopped by Levy. "Let me handle it." She advised, writing the word fire in the air, and sending it straight up. Erin nodded, and began to attempt to shift some of the debris, but to no avail. The explosion had shattered the ceiling here into large pieces, and in his weakened state, he couldn't do much. All of the sudden, Laxus was at his side, helping to shift one of the larger pieces, while Gajeel worked on breaking up the massive pieces into more manageable sizes. Erin grasped the gauntlet once more, squeezing the armor gently, and sighed when the gesture was returned. "Just hold on, Red." He said, determination in his voice. "We'll have you out of there soon enough." The gauntlet squeezed his hand, acknowledging his statement, and he let go, helping Laxus to move the debris out of the way. Finally, Gajeel moved the heaviest piece of debris, and they were able to pull Erza out of the rubble. Erza stood, clad in her Adamantine Armor, which had deflected most of the damage from Jose's attack. Erin took a step towards her, then rushed to catch her as she collapsed, exquipping to her standard attire of a white blouse and a blue skirt. "Erza!" he yelled, panicked, and then doubled over as the largest coughing spell yet hit his lungs full force. Coughing up a trail of blood, he wobbled on his hands and knees, before collapsing onto his stomach next to Erza. "Damn it!" Gajeel cursed. Scooping up Erza in a fireman's carry, he glanced over at Laxus, who had gathered Erin up in his arms. They scrambled over the mountains of stone and clay, careful not to jostle the passengers, heading towards the rest of the group, who had gathered just outside what used to be the main courtyard. Reaching them, they stopped to catch their breath. "We need to get going, now." Laxus growled, already heading off through the desert. "These two need medical attention, as soon as possible, and for that, we need to get to a hospital. What's the nearest town?" "Dawn City." Levy answered. "Half a day's travel from here on foot. Do you think we could make it?" "We would be cutting it closer than a razor." Laxus replied. "Erin's lung was only patched up, and I think he may have re-opened the wound, along with several cracked ribs, and Erza used up all of her magic energy trying to block the explosion, and then took a shard of rock to the stomach." Shifting, Gajeel revealed the six-inch-long shard currently embedded in Erza's belly. "I don't think it hit anything vital, but I don't want to remove in case she bleeds to death." "Then let's get moving." Mira insisted, worry darkening her features. "If we get going now, there's a better chance that they'll survive. Plus, Natsu still needs treatment. I've bandaged it as best I can, but it'll need surgery to repair the damage." "Alright," Laxus said, facing east. "Dawn City it is. Let's go."

* * *

It was well past nightfall when they finally stumbled into Dawn City. Erin and Erza were both pale, their breathing shallow, but still alive. Natsu was up and walking, currently helping Laxus carry Erin. Mira went to the nearest door and knocked. A dog began barking, and seconds later, they heard a woman's voice. "Who could that be at this late hour…I swear if it's those kids again I'll show 'em what for. Back, Free, BACK!" They heard the dog's paws on hardwood running away from the door, then the chain on the door unlatched and the door opened, revealing an attractive twenty-something woman with light brown hair worn in a braid, and multiple snake tattoos on her arms. Needless to say, the woman was taken aback to find, not kids playing a prank, but eleven adults, two of them being carried by the others. "Pardon us for the trouble, ma'am." Laxus started, a grim look on his face. "We're wizards from the guild Fairy Tail. Our comrades were recently hurt in battle with a dark guild, and need medical attention as soon as possible. Do you know where we could find a doctor?" "Oh, my goodness." The woman said, covering her mouth. "Bring them inside, quickly. Ordinarily, I don't I accept patients at my house, but for this case, I'll make an exception. The name is Medusa Albarn, by the way." Hurrying inside, they followed Medusa into the basement, where there were five beds set up, along with various medical equipment and supplies. "Lay them there. I'll get cleaned up and get Free and Eruka out of our hair, then I'll help your friends." Stepping over to the nearest bed, Natsu and Laxus laid Erin out on it, while Gajeel set Erza down on the bed directly next to it. The others took seats on the floor near the pair, but when Natsu attempted to join them, Laxus shook his head and pointed to a third bed. "Last I checked, you were pretty badly injured yourself. Go lay down, have the good doctor take a look at you." When Natsu tried to protest, Laxus crossed his arms over his chest. "Absolutely not. Go lie down, before I knock you out and put you in that bed myself." Grumbling, Natsu went to the third bed in the line, laying on his back.

"So," Medusa said casually, putting on a pair of gloves. "Mind telling me what happened to these three? You said they were injured in a fight with a dark guild, but I need to know what I'm dealing with." "The tall one has a punctured lung, but it was patched with Soul Pulse magic." Laxus said, and Medusa did a slight double take at the mention of the magic. "Anything else?" "Cracked ribs, maybe more." Laxus responded, ignoring the hesitation. "He would be in better shape, but he worked himself to unconsciousness trying to find his fiancée." He indicated Erza. "A building collapsed on all of us, but most of us were lucky-" "LUCKY?!" Medusa said incredulously. "You're damn right you got lucky! You're all lucky to be alive, let alone with minimal injuries!" Mumbling under her breath about astronomical odds, she examined Erin's wound. "Who was it that used Soul Pulse magic to heal this one?" "Someone we rescued from the Nocturnal Alliance." Laxus responded, and Medusa whirled around. "WHO?!" She asked fervently, shocking Laxus. "H-her name's Maka. She's upstairs right now." "Go get her. If it's who I think it is…" She stopped that thought as Mira darted upstairs. "Anyways, as impressive a patch job as it was, it's just that: a patch job." Closing her eyes, Medusa placed a hand on Erin's bare chest. "Nake Snake, Cobra, Cobra." She chanted, and one of the snake tattoos on her arms slithered to life. "Oh helpful familiar, heal this man of his injuries. **Serpent Healer**!" With that, the tattoo slithered down her hand and onto Erin, settling on his chest, above his ribcage. "What are you doing?!" Gajeel roared, rising to his feet. "Relax, I'm doing as you asked." "How do we know you ain't poisoning him?" Gajeel asked, suspicious of the brunette healer. "Because I'm not. If I wanted to kill you, I would have just denied you entry to my home. And you can trust that my methods are effective. I learned the art of healing from a witch named Porlyusica." At that, Gajeel sat abruptly. "Ya shoulda mentioned that a little sooner, Snake Charmer. I would have trusted you from the start if you had said you knew Porlyusica." "Thank you." Medusa replied scathingly. "Now, please allow me to treat your friends, unless you want them to die?" She glared at Gajeel, who stared off into the corner, avoiding her gaze. Huffing, she went to go to Erza, only to be stopped as a hand grabbed her wrist. Turning, she saw that the young man had grabbed a hold of her wrist. His lips moved, but she couldn't make out what he said. Leaning towards him, she heard the man. "Miss, is Erza going to make it?" He looked absolutely worried for the woman next to him, without concern for himself. It reminded Medusa of herself at a younger age. Looking the man in the eyes, she said, "I will do everything in my power to make sure she does. Now, rest. You need to be healthy, as well." The man scoffed, letting her wrist go. "Yeah, sure." He said, laying his head back. Soon, he was snoring lightly as he fell asleep. Medusa shook her head, smiling. "They're really something, huh, Doc?" Laxus said, smiling. Medusa laughed lightly. "Something foolish, that's for sure." "To be honest, Erin would be in better shape if we had found Erza sooner." He said. Medusa looked back at him, puzzled. "Erin was the first out of us to recover after the building collapsed. When he got up, he was coughing up blood and was in extreme pain, but fought through it and found Gajeel. Not long after that, he collapsed from a punctured lung. If Maka hadn't been there…" "If I hadn't been where?" A familiar voice rang from the basement steps. "Sorry I wasn't here sooner, Laxus, but Soul and I ran out and grabbed food for you guys, if you're hungry." Medusa turned and looked at the new comer, then promptly squealed and ran past Laxus to embrace Maka. "Oh my god, I thought I would never see you again!" She exclaimed, wrapping Maka in a vice-like hug. "It's been two years, hasn't it, little sis?"

"Medusa?!" Maka exclaimed, stunned. "What are you doing here? I thought you still had the house in Oak Town?" Medusa's smile dimmed somewhat. "After you and Soul disappeared, I decided that I needed a fresh start, so I sold the house and moved here, to Dawn City, and got a job as a doctor." She glanced around, frowning. "Where's Soul, anyways?" "He's upstairs, talking with Mira. Shouldn't you be worrying about your patients?" "OH! Right!" Medusa said, rushing back to Erza's bed. Laxus looked meaningfully at Gajeel, Levy, Cana and Evergreen, and they went upstairs to grab food, leaving Maka and Medusa alone with their patients.

"Your magic has gotten better." Medusa commented, as she examined Erza. "If he would have had time to rest, instead of climbing over rubble and digging through debris, I probably wouldn't have been needed." "Thanks, sis." Maka responded, smiling sadly. "Guess I had plenty of time to improve while I was locked in that cell." Medusa's fist clenched as Maka said that last part, then she looked back as Erza began to stir. "W-where am I? Where is Erin?" She went to sit up, but Medusa put a firm hand on her shoulder. "Please, lie still. You've sustained serious injuries, and it will only make them worse if you move." "Who are you?" Erza questioned, suspicion evident in her voice. "My name's Medusa Albarn." Medusa responded, trying to soothe her patient. "Your friends brought you and two others here after a building collapsed on you." "Was…someone named Erin with them? Please, I need to know." She once again tried to sit up, but Medusa's hand was still on her shoulder. "If you're talking about the man in the bed over there who acted the same when it came to your health, then yes. He's not out of the woods yet, but he should pull through." Erza stilled, a sigh of relief breaking through her lips. "Thank goodness." Medusa hid a small smile as she examined Erza's wounds, clicking her tongue as she found the shard of rock that was embedded in her side. "You were wise to leave this in." She said to Maka as she examined the wound. "Even though it didn't hit anything vital, she would have bled out long before you reached me, even with a bandage. Could you fetch me a bucket of water and some towels?" As Maka ran to grab the supplies, she looked up at Erza. "This is going to hurt quite a lot. The stone has something like a barb that's already in the wound. We're going to have to push it through the other side. Can you roll onto your side for me?" Assisting her, Medusa looked up to see Maka hurrying back with the water and towels. "Come here, sis, I need your help." As Maka approached, her eyes widened at Erza's injury. "We're going to have to push the stone through. Give one of the towels to Erza to bite down on, then go upstairs and tell the big blonde guy-" "Laxus?" Maka asked, smiling. "Whatever his name is." Medusa said, rolling her eyes. "Tell him to go to the house on the corner and ask for Dr. Stein. Tell him to say that Dr. Albarn needs his assistance." As Maka ran off, Medusa looked back at Erza, whose worried eyes rested on Erin. "He'll be fine, I promise." Medusa said, soothingly. "I haven't lost a patient yet. Even if you two are the worst cases I've seen so far, I promise that I will do everything in my power to keep you alive." Erza sighed, then braced as Maka returned. "Laxus just left." She told Medusa. "Anything else you need?" "Grab a pair of gloves. We'll get this out of her as soon as Frank arrives."

* * *

Laxus panted as he ran towards the corner. _Dr. Stein, Dr. Stein._ He repeated in his head. Reaching the house, a strange square one with what looked like stitches running across it, he ran to the door and knocked. A minute later, a tall man answered, wearing a lab coat and, strangely, a giant screw through his head. "Yeah?" the man asked, glancing at Laxus over his circular glasses. "Please, sir, I'm looking for a Dr. Stein. Do you know where he is?" "You're looking at him." The man responded. "What do you need?" "I just came from the house down the street. My friends are badly injured and the doctor that lives there asked for your help. She said to tell you that Dr. Albarn needs his assistance." The man's gaze hardened as Laxus said her name. "Give me thirty seconds to grab a few things, and I'll be right back. Crona!" a tall girl with pink hair poked her head out of the door. "Get my medical bag. We're heading over to Medusa's. Quickly!" With that, Crona darted off, and Dr. Stein threw on a lab coat. Seconds later, Crona reappeared, a large duffel bag in her hands. Stein grabbed it, throwing it over his shoulder, and looked back at Laxus. "Well, young man, lead on."

* * *

Erza winced as Medusa washed the area around the shard with soap. "Miss, why are you helping us?" She asked the older woman, who looked taken aback at the question. "I don't mean to be rude," Erza continued, "but wouldn't it have been easier for you to send us on our way?" Looking up, Medusa sighed. "Yeah, it probably would have been easier to send you guys to the hospital. Forget about you and just go about my life, right? But I made a promise to myself two years ago, after my sister disappeared, that I would always help those who needed it. You lot are no different." Erza smiled, and nodded. "Thank you, Miss." "Please, call me Medusa." Medusa replied, as they heard the front door open. Seconds later, a man with a massive screw stuck in his head hurried down the stairs, lab coat flapping behind him like bat wings. Rushing over to Medusa, he bent over, catching his breath. "What in Death's name are you doing calling on me at midnight for?" He panted, straightening up and twisting the screw until it clicked. "I needed your expertise with sutures, Frank." Medusa answered, a small smile on her face. "I've got a couple of nasty injuries that need immediate attention." "I see." Frank answered, looking down at Erza. "Is this one of them?" Medusa looked down at her as well. "Yes. She's got a six inch shard of rock stuck in her side. No vitals were hit, but it has a kind of barb that prevents us from just pulling it out. We're going to push it through, but we needed someone on hand to stem the bleeding." She turned to Maka. "Are you ready, sis?" Maka nodded in affirmation. "Alright. Miss Erza?" She turned to the red-haired woman. "We're gonna do this on the count of three, so be ready, ok?" When Erza nodded, she turned to Stein. "As soon as it's out, seal it up, then I'll use my magic to speed up the healing process. Ok, Stein?" "I'm following you here, Miss Albarn. And I'm ready when you are." "Okay. On three, alright, sis? One…two…THREE!" As she spoke, she pushed the shard through the wound, forcing it to go through Erza's back. Erza groaned and tensed, biting down hard on the towel. Slowly, the piece of stone poked through the skin opposite the entry wound, where Maka grabbed a hold of it and pulled it the rest of the way through. As soon as it was out, Stein closed his eyes and pointed, focusing magic energy. " **Binding Magic: Sutures**!" As he cast the spell, magic energy flowed from his hand, forming threads that sewed the wounds shut. As the magic took effect and started stitching, Erza uttered a loud groan. Soon, it was all over, and Erza had twenty-five stitches in each wound, holding the skin shut. Medusa extended her arm, placing a hand on the freshly sealed injury. "Nake, Snake, Cobra Cobra." she chanted, calling on her tattoos once more. "Oh helpful familiar, aid this woman and heal her injuries. **Serpent Healer**!" Two more of her tattoos slithered off of her arms, one settling on the wound in her stomach, and the other settling on the exit wound. Opening her eyes, she looked up at her helpers and smiled. "She should be okay now. But-" she quieted as Erin stirred, looking around blearily. "Hey," Medusa said, standing and walking over to his bedside, "how are you feeling?" "Sore." Erin answered honestly, wincing as he repositioned on the bed. "This is going to sound stupid," he began, glancing away, "but is there any way to move the beds closer?" He looked over at Erza, who returned his gaze. "Yeah." Medusa said, smiling. "The beds are on wheels, so I'll have Stein scoot your beds together while I take a look at your friend, okay?" "Thank you, Doc." As she got up and walked around to the pink-haired man's bed, she heard Stein push one of the beds, and a small _thud_ as the beds met. Smiling as she heard hushed whispers, she unwrapped the bandage over the young man's chest. Her eyes widened as she beheld the deep stab wound, and she looked up at the man. "Hey," she said, gently shaking the man, "wake up." Startled, the man's eyes flashed open, and he attempted to sit up, only to stop and groan as pain flashed through his chest. "Easy," Medusa warned, "easy. It's alright. What's your name?" "Natsu…Natsu Dragneel." The man replied, wincing. "Well, Mr. Dragneel, I must ask, how on Earthland did this happen, and how in hell are you so lucky? This wound managed to miss any and all vital organs, veins, and arteries. Mind you, it'll take a while to rebuild the muscle, but you're a lot better off than your friends over there." She glanced over her shoulder at Erin and Erza, who were fast asleep, with arms and hands entwined. "Don't worry," she said, as she turned back to Natsu and noticed the look on his face. "They're fine now. I've seen to them." Calling Stein over, they performed the same procedure as they had with Erza, minus the shard of stone being pushed through the skin.

"Alright." Medusa said, standing up. "You three are on bedrest for the next three days at least, and I'll be checking in periodically throughout that time." Noticing that they were all asleep, she shook her head. "Alright, Stein, you can go home now." She said, turning to her assistant. "With all due respect, Medusa," Stein said, gathering his things, "I'd like to stay here for at least tonight, just to keep an eye on my patients." He indicated Erza and Natsu. "Suit yourself." Medusa said, shrugging. "There are a couple of guest rooms upstairs, or you can take one of the medical beds down here. I'm assuming Crona is here as well?" Stein's niece was one of Medusa's favorite people in the world, as the shy young woman loved animals as much as she did, and they could sit together and talk for hours. "You would assume correctly." Stein said, laughing. "Good. I don't know if I could take your insanity without someone to reign it in." Medusa laughed as she heard Stein trip walking up the stairs behind her. Opening the basement door, she saw the rest of the group gathered around the table, waiting anxiously for news on their friends. Maka, Soul, and Crona leaned on the counter. The burly black-haired wizard who confronted her earlier paced the small space between the table and the wall, while a small blue-haired woman leaned against the wall. The big blonde man, Laxus, she remembered, sat at the table, a white-haired woman sitting on his lap, their foreheads touching as they whispered to each other. A brown-haired woman stood in the middle of the room looking out of the window, her arms crossed over her chest, and a tan-haired woman leaned against the front door. When they heard the basement door open, they all looked up, and the black-haired one took a step towards her, but was stopped by the blue-haired girl. "What's the news?" Laxus asked, moving the white-haired girl and standing up. "They're all going to be fine." Medusa replied, and the group visibly relaxed. "However, I'll be keeping them here on bedrest for the next three days at least. I have three guest rooms if you would like to stay here, or there's an inn a few streets down where you could stay. The decision is yours." The white-haired girl rushed forward and hugged her, surprising her. "Thank you so much for helping us out!" She breathed. "We were so worried that they wouldn't make it!" Drawing back, she wiped a tear from her eye. "My name's Mirajane. We'll take one of the guest rooms, if you don't mind." "Not at all." Medusa replied, smiling at her. "It was my pleasure to help." "I'm Gajeel." The black-haired man said, shaking her hand. "Levy and I will go down to the inn, and we'll check in with them tomorrow." With that, he and the blue-haired girl walked out, followed by the tan-haired woman. "I'm Cana." The brown-haired woman said, hugging Medusa gratefully. "I'll take the other guest room. Do you have anything to drink?" "I have beer in the fridge, if you want it, but please don't drink it all." She laughed at the disappointed look on the woman's face. Stretching and yawning, Medusa walked to the counter and hopped up, sitting next to Soul. "It's been a while, hasn't it, Soul?" "Yup." The white-haired man replied. Medusa laughed. "Guess two years hasn't changed your way with words, has it? Short and to the point, just like always." Smiling sadly, she looked at a picture on the wall. "I'm glad some things haven't changed."

Erin groaned as he woke up, and blinked blearily, looking around and trying to place his surroundings. As he looked left, he noticed Erza lying next to him, on her back. Then the memories of yesterday hit. The fight with her, the fight against Jose, the explosion, searching through the rubble for everyone, finding Erza, and the exchanges with the doctor, who was currently walking down the stairs to the basement. "Oh, hey, you're awake!" She said brightly, walking over to him. "How do you feel?" "Sore." Erin replied, rubbing his chest. "But I don't feel like hacking up a lung, so at least I'm making progress." Medusa laughed. "That IS a good thing. Just to let you know, all of you are on bedrest through tomorrow, while my magic does its work, so be warned." She laughed again at the mortified look on Erin's face, before moving on to Erza. Folding down the covers, she examined Erza's wound, pressing against it lightly, until Erza growled in her sleep and tried to roll over towards Erin. "Everything seems to be fine. Just keep an eye on each other, and NO funny business." She glared at Erin. "I mean it. No extracurricular activities while in my clinic, or I will have my snake bite you." When Erin nodded, laughing, she stood and walked over to Natsu's bed. After poking at the stitches, she stood back up. "Your friends will be down shortly with food for you." She said. "I'll be back later to check on you again. You know the rules." By the time she said that, Erin was already asleep, his head leaning to the side as Erza's head rested on his shoulder. Smiling, Medusa grabbed her hooded jacket and left for the hospital.

* * *

"Jesus Christ, FINALLY!" Erin exclaimed, standing up and stretching. It had been three days since they had arrived in Dawn City, and Erin, Erza and Natsu were finally allowed off of bedrest. Turning, he wrapped up Erza in a bear hug. "It's over. It's finally over!" He said laughing as he spun around. "That it is." Erza responded as he set her down. Pulling him in, she kissed him passionately, wrapping a hand in his hair. Erin's hands moved, one wrapping in her hair, the other settling mid back. They continued like that for almost a minute, until someone cleared their throat. Breaking apart and gasping for air, they saw Natsu there, sadness etched into his face. "Sorry about that, Natsu." Erin apologized, making his way over to the dragon slayer. Natsu shook his head. "No, it's fine. I'm happy for you guys, it's just…" "I know." Erin said, hanging his head. "The others should be here. Gray, Juvia, Lucy…" The three lowered their heads, remembering their fallen friends.

Suddenly, the basement door was flung open as Laxus ran down the stairs. "Get your stuff together, guys, we're leaving soon." He said, looking around at the others. "Why?" Erza asked, confused. "Where do we have to go?" "Back to camp on Mt. Hakobe!" He said. "The others are probably sick with worry by now!" Erin laughed. "You're probably right. Wonder if they've started looking for us yet?" The others started laughing as well as they imagined Elfman, Gildarts, Alzack, and Bisca's reactions. "Alright." Natsu said, a small smile on his face. "Let's go!"

Elfman sat in the center of the cave that used to be the camp of Fairy Tail, entertaining Asuka with his transformations. He looked up as Gildarts, Alzack and Bisca reentered the cave. "Any luck?" He asked, but they just shook their heads. "No sign of them in a week." Gildarts said. "Do you think the Alliance got to them?" "If any group could take the Alliance on, it's them." Alzack responded. "Yeah, but the Alliance has numbers on their side." Bisca countered, picking up Asuka. "I'm afraid we have to assume-" "Assume what?" A voice rang out from behind them. "Certainly not that we're dead, I hope." Another familiar voice said. Spinning around, their jaws dropped to the floor as they saw the group of nine wizards at the entrance to the cave. "Where the hell were you guys?!" Elfman roared, getting up to join the others." Erin grinned. "That's a long story."

* * *

"So, it's over?" Bisca said, hugging Asuka to her chest. "Yup." Laxus said. "It's all over. We can go back to being the strongest guild in Fiore." "Thank goodness." Alzack sighed, embracing his wife. "Now," Erza said, standing. "There's lots to do. We need to think about where we want the guild hall to be, who will be S-class, how to tell the council we're back in business-" She was cut off as Erin laughed. "I vote we take it easy for a while. We've been running for our lives for a while, so let's take a while to enjoy them." He stood up, embracing his fiancée. "Let's go out and celebrate. For tonight is the night that Fairy Tail is back!"

* * *

 **And with that, I present to you, the finished product that is Fairy Extinction. I want to thank the people that followed, favorited, and reviewed this story. You guys helped get through this thing. Special thanks to dramabug15, my beta-reader for this story. Your input was amazing, Ashley! Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed this final chapter, review if you guys want to see an epilogue, and I'll see ya later. For perhaps the last time on Extinction, Storm Out!**


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